Waking the Dragons
by DragonsKing83
Summary: Daenys the Dreamer wasn't the last Targaryen with the gift of foresight. Lyanna dreams of the Sack of Kings Landing and the fall of Dragonstone. Armed with this knowledge and together with the Kingsguard, they race to the capitol. Together, the wives of Prince Rhaegar and a now-fierce Queen Rhaella, outwit the Usurper and survive to raise the next generation of Dragons.
1. Chapter 1

**Waking the Dragon**

 **Chapter I.**

 **Author's Note-** _(This is an idea I had in mind that just would not go away. Prophetic visions saved House Targaryen from the Doom of Valyria. What would happen if the blood of the Dreamer still flowed strong in House Targaryen. If one could forsee what was to come? Could they challenge fate and survive to forge their own destiny? The first parts of this story are about three remarkable women with indomitable wills. They will do whatever they must to see their children survive. As the next generation of dragons grow under their guidance, they will work hard to restore what was lost. As the new century approaches, the new generation will take back what is theirs, with Fire and Blood._

 _Also, this story will have regular updates as I already have over half of it pre-written. I will also soon be posting updates for all my other stories as I have now completed new chapters for all of them. Real life had gotten and is a bit crazy. Thanks for everyone who reads them.)_

* * *

 _The door burst open suddenly and with unexpected force. Standing in the doorway was a monster of a man; a demon in human skin. There was a look of abject terror in the shining eyes of the woman who stood on the other side of the room across from the beast._

 _"Please! Have mercy, I beg of you. Do not harm my child, please. Do what you will with me, but don't harm my children. They are innocent. Please!," the beautiful woman begged the beast moving towards her._

 _"You're alone now whore! There's no one to save you. Your worthless husband is dead. Ser Jaime slew the Mad King, and now it's your time to die," said the man known throughout the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros as 'The Mountain that Rides'._

 _"Please, have mercy! Don't harm my children!" Princess Elia Martell begged and pleaded with the man._

 _She knew she was about to die. She could accept that. What she could not accept, what she would not accept, was the thought of her children dying with her._

 _In no time at all, the Mad Dog of Tywin Lannister was upon her. The beast ripped the young babe from the woman's arms. Faster than she could even comprehend, the Mountain gripped the by now screaming babe by the neck, and bashed his skull against the chamber's stone wall with as much force as he could muster._

 _All that was left of the child's head was a caved in skull and a few strands of blood matted fair hair and brain matter._

 _The Mountain, with hands still covered in blood and brains, stalked back to the terrified Princess._

 _"Not to worry Princess. Ser Amory should be done with your daughter by now, and you will soon be able to join your dragonspawn in death," said the Mountain leeringly to the Princess Elia._

 _The scene that followed was one of the most horrific sights imaginable. The giant of a man, ripped the princess's clothing from her body, and proceeded to savagely violate the woman. When he was finished, the Princess was barely alive. The vile monster hen unsheathed his massive great sword and cleaved the Princess of Dorne nearly in two._

 _The dream shifted abruptly, and another man was seen looking through a room in Maegor's Holdfast. The pig like man was another of Tywin Lannister's dogs; Ser Amory Lorch. He found his prey hidden underneath a large, regal looking bed. The man pulled a small young girl of no more than three name days out from under the bed kicking and screaming. It was the Princess Rhaenys, only daughter of Princess Elia Martell and Crown Prince Rhaegar. Mute horror filled the dreamer as she watched the beautiful little girl get stabbed repeatedly half a hundred times as she screamed and cried out for the father who could no longer hear the calls of mortal men and women._

 _"Please let these nightmares and horrific visions come to an end," the Dreamer silently pleaded._

 _Swirls of color flowed and changed as the scene shifted once more._

 _A large forbidding castle loomed over an island in the sea. The ancient castle held a forboding atmosphere with its statues and gargoyles of dragons and stone images of the idols of Old Valyria. The sea churned restlessly as a storm raged on. Ships bearing the flags of the Usurper could be seen; ready and poised to storm the last outpost of the once mighty Targaryen Dynasty._

 _In a bed of blood inside the castle, the still beautiful Queen Rhaella sceamed in agony as she bore a beautful little girl into the world; utterly alone except for her terrified young son Viserys and a young maid with no child birthing or healing experience to aid her._

 _"Daenerys. Let her be called Daenerys Stormborn," whispered the dying Queen as she breathed her last._

 _Soldiers of the enemy had come for them._

 _The little prince and the newborn princess were left bereft and alone as the Usurper's men came to finish off the last of the Dragons._

 _"Enough!" The Dreamer sceamed in an agony of terror of what was to come._

 _"Let it end," the Dreamer thought._

 _Colors and light swirled for a final time as the vision shifted and became illuminated in the eerie green light that only wildfire could emit. Uncontrollable flames of green bathed the dreamers vision of the island of Dragonstone as ships and men alike were bathed in the flames._

 _From the heart of the flames however, a final hope was discovered. Birthed from the green flames of wildfire, beings unseen for well over a century emerged from eggs long thought to be stone. In all shapes and colors did they emerge. As the Dreamer counted, seven dragons were born anew. The might of the dragon had returned to the world of man, but of the family that was bonded to them, none remained. Left to themselves, in time they would come to terrorize the whole of the western continent._

 _"You must succeed," whispered a voice to the Dreamer._

 _"Save the dragons, and you will save yourself and that which is most precious to you," the unknown voice said._

 _"You know what you must do. Your's is the blood of the First Men and the ice of the North. Save the dragon's and raise the Prince that was Promised. You are strong. Show the world that you are no man's tool. Save them, and you will save yourself, your child, and even the world itself," the cryptic voice whispered passionately with purpose._

 _"I will do it. On my blood and my honor they will be saved," the Dreamer said._

 _"I know what must needs be done," the Dreamer finished._

* * *

Eyes snapped open abruptly as Lyanna Stark awoke from the dream that showed her the consequences of what shall come to pass if she does not act stop them. She somehow knew with every fiber of her being that what she was shown would most assuredly happen should she choose to ignore fate's warning.

The She-Wolf of the North was resolved. She would not allow every last member of her son's family to perish if she could help it; and she knew she was carrying a son. No matter how crazy it might sound, Lyanna knew with an absolute certainty, that the child in her womb was a son.

Throughout her pregnancy, Lyanna had been bombarded with visions of a sort. They mostly came in the form of dreams that were far too vivid to be mere figments of her imagination. She knew they were real, as so far, they had all come to pass. She would not allow this to come to pass; this she swore.

She knew she had to act immediately. She had very little time with which she could act. If she was able to leave now, despite being rather advanced in her pregnancy, she should just barely have the time to reach the capitol and spirit away her sister-wife and step-daughter. She was unsure if she would be able to retrieve the Blackfyre child as the Mad King was known to keep him under heavy guard.

She let out a bit of an internal laugh at that. If the madman knew who he really was his rage and subsequent tantrum would be of epic proportions.

Lyanna knew whom she would have to approach if she had a hope of getting the Kingsguard to agree with what she had in mind and disregard their orders. She must succeed. Time was of the essence.

Lyanna made herself presentable, and walked to the rooms on the floor below her own. By the gods was she ready to be rid of this thrice-damned tower. She was the She-Wolf of Winterfell damnnit, and did not do well confined. It was always unwise to confine a wolf; especially a direwolf.

As she entered the room, the Kingsguard immediately stood at attention when the now Dowager Princess of Dragonstone entered the room.

'Dowager Princess,' Lyanna thought.

How she loathed that title, it should not have happened this way.

She had gained the one man she felt she could and did truly love; and was left a pregnant widow after barely a year.

She had no time to let herself fall into further grief. Time waited for no man.

Perhaps it might wait at least a bit for a woman?

"Ser Arthur, might you join me for a moment? I have some issues I need to discuss with you," Lyanna said to the Sword of the Morning.

"Of course My Princess," Ser Arthur replied.

Ever the true knight, Ser Arthur offered her his arm as they left the room and took the stairs to Lyanna's chambers.

Once there, they both settled into the comfortable chairs that were arranged in front of the useless fireplace.

Of all the Kingsguard knights of which Lyanna had made the acquaintance of, Ser Arthur Dayne was her favorite by far. Over time, the two had developed a true friendship with one another, and Lyanna held the knight in the highest of regard. They had both become rather informal with one another in private.

"How are you feeling Lyanna," Ser Arthur asked the Princess.

"The baby and I are both in excellent health, despite recent events, Arthur," she told him.

"Arthur, I need you to listen to me, and help me. Many lives depend on it," Lyanna said.

Arthur Dayne was taken aback by the seriousness of Lyanna's tone. She, who was usually so composed and fearless, appeared terrified. Something terrible enough to scare the She Wolf must be awful indeed.

"Whatever you ask of me, I swear to do my best to help in any way I can. What is it Lyanna?" he questioned

"You know of the visions I've been having all throughout my pregnancy. I'm not sure how, but I know it is my son that is the reason for me seeing them. Every last one of them has ocurred with uncanny and rather frightening accuracy," she explained.

"Before you tell me what the vision showed you; let me ask you a question? Do you know who my grandmother is?" Ser Arthur asked.

Lyanna pondered that for a moment before she remembered.

"Your grandmother is the Princess Rhae, is she not? The youngest daughter of King Maekar, correct?"

"Yes, yes she is. She is the aunt to your own grandmother, King Maekar's eldest son Daeron's daughter the Princess Vaella; wife of Edwyle Stark." Arthur told her.

"My grandmother is one of the strongest women I have ever met. She always supported me in some of my more unlady-like interests. You know they actually considered her for the throne briefly during the Great Council in 233? She was the last heir to the throne's only child, but she had no desire to rule, or even be in Kings Landing. She was a most accomplished mummer, you might say. She had developed an entire persona that led everyone to believe she was dull witted," Lyanna said with a laugh.

"It was all a ruse. She did not want to be married off to any of her relatives, nor did she want to be used to by any players of the Game. So, no one thought anything about it when she managed to arrange a marriage for herself as far away from the capitol as possible," Lyanna explained.

Arthur chuckled at that. The tale of that particular lady reminded him of exactly something his own grandmother may have concocted.

"Well, what I'm trying to say is that I believe your dreams to be truly prophetic because mine own grandmother has a touch of the _sight_ as well. You are carrying a Targaryen heir in your womb, and you yourself are the grand-daughter of a dragon princess. With what I know, I do not doubt you for a moment Lyanna. Now, whatever it is must truly be dire. What have you _seen_?" Arthur asked in a serious tone.

"It was terrible Arthur. Tywin Lannister will soon sack the capitol. They'll destroy so much. Ser Jaime is going to kill the King, but that's not the worst of it by far," she said.

Arthur sucked in a sharp breath.

"Jaime is going to kill Aerys?" Arthur asked.

"How and why?" Arthur needed to know.

He needed to know if the young knight he held in such high regard would truly betray all honor.

"I don't blame Ser Jaime in the slightest Arthur. Aerys has it coming, we all know that. He did have a very valid reason though. Aerys ordered him to bring him Tywin Lannister's head. That in itself was bad enough, but that wasn't the real reason. Arthur, Aerys had told the pyromancers to release all of the stores of wildfire that he apparently had stored in strategic spots throughout the city. He wanted Kings Landing burned to the ground utterly. He said let the Usurper reign over nothing but rubble and the dead. He meant to kill everything in the city; including his own family and the half a million people that lived within it," Lyanna explained.

Arthur could hardly contemplate the ramifications if Aerys' plan was successful. With that in mind, he found it far more difficult to judge Jaime. He did not know what he himself would have done in Jaime's place.

"What else?" Arthur asked.

"It was awful Arthur. Elia...Elia, she..." Lyanna appeared to be barely restaining tears at this point.

"What happens to Elia, Lyanna?" Arthur was feeling dread like never before.

"Tywin Lannister unleashed his mad dogs on them. The Mountain, he...the Mountain bashed the baby's head against a wall crushing his skull. Then the beast raped Elia and cut her in half. Then, oh gods Arthur...Amory Lorch dragged little Rhaenys out from underneath her father's bed. He killed her. He must have stabbed her half a hundred times. They presented the bodies to Robert in the throne room. Ned was furious, but Robert looked gleeful. He spat on them, and called them _dragonspawn_ ," Lyanna said as tears were now flowing down her pale cheeks unchecked.

Arthur collapsed back in his chair. The horror described to him...it was unspeakable. He could not allow that to come to pass. He would not.

"The Queen was on Dragonstone next Arthur. Their was a fierce storm going on, and she was all alone giving birth with nothing but a lone servant and little Viserys. She gave birth to a little girl and was dying while the Usurper's forces were about to storm the island and kill them all. The Queen was terrified for her children. If she had help, she may have been able to survive. That poor woman endured Aerys all those years, only to meet her own end like that when she was finaly free of him. We have to help her too Arthur," Lyanna told him as her voice burned with a strong fire.

"I cannot...we cannot allow this to happen. We must save them. If we left right now, with Varys' help we just may be able to secret them out. If he can find someone with even a bit of resemblance, it will be enough to fool them. There would not be enough time for them to be discovered." Lyanna explained what she wished to do.

Arthur sat there for a moment thinking of what all they needed to do. That they would act was not even in question. They could not allow any of this to take place. Lyanna could write to the Eunuch for him to be ready with his part. Arthur would force Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell if he must. Remaining here would only get them killed.

His home was not far away. If they left now, they could be in Starfall tomorrow and take a ship from there. He knew his brother had one ship in particular that was especially fast. It would take two weeks to reach the capitol. Hopefully they would arrive before the Lannisters. He would not allow Elia or Rhaenys to meet such a cruel fate. They deserved much better. Then, they would need a maester and flee to Dragonstone to help the Queen and the little prince.

"Princess, get your maid and pack everything up. We will leave for Starfall immediately." Arthur said.

"What about Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell?" Lyanna inquired.

She knew how stubborn those two could be.

"You just leave them to me. I'll see to everything. We must make haste," Arthur told her. 

* * *

As usual, Ser Arthur was as good as his word. It was not two hours after their conversation ended that they had abandoned the Tower of Joy and were making their way to Starfall. Lyanna had no idea what Ser Arthur had said to convince the other two members of the Kingsguard, but at this point, she did not care. It was enough that they both agreed to come and help.

The ride was fast, long, and arduous; and her pregnant state did not help matters. Lyanna was an excellent horsewoman, and had sometimes been claimed that she was half a horse herself; just like her older brother Brandon.

By the gods, did it grieve her heart to think of the brother and father she had lost. Even to that day, she still did not understand how some of these happenings had occurred. When she left with her Silver Prince, she had left word of what she was going to do, who she was with, as well as where she would be. And with several different people at that. The letter to her lord father even included a missive from Queen Rhaella herself! How her letters and the messangers themselves were all lost she would never know. She despised thinking about the what if's in life. She had her son to think of now. His safety and that of their family were her only priority.

After a night with little to no rest, they arrived at Starfall. Lyanna thought it was beautiful with its pale stone towers and commanding views of the sea. The Lady Ashara recieved them. Lyanna had gotten on quite well with the beautiful woman who had stolen her brother's heart. Lyanna was aware that Brandon had been hopelessly in love with the Dornish beauty, and had had every intention of breaking off the betrothal with Catelyn Tully in order to marry his lady love. The evidence of their love was visible to all as she was holding a small babe in her arms that could not have been more than three months old. Inside the swaddling clothes lay a baby girl with dark hair and beautiful violet eyes.

Lyanna had been shocked to learn her niece's name was Lady Elaena Stark, only child and true-born daughter of Brandon Stark. Apparently, Brandon had married Ashara in secret as soon as he learned of the pregnancy. He was just about to inform the Tully's that the betrothal was cancelled when he and his companions rode to Kings Landing.

Ser Arthur and Ashara led her into a solar on the night before they were to board the ship for Kings Landing. Inside the room, was a rather elderly woman Lyanna suspected was past her seventieth name day. She was proven correct when she was introduced to Arthur and Ashara's grandmother, the seventy-four year old Princess Rhae Targaryen-Dayne.

"It is and honor to meet you Princess," Lyanna said to the elder lady.

"No, the honor is mine my dear for you carry our future within you. I have never had the gift of foresight as strong as some of our ancestors did, but I have seen enough of late to know what needs to be done." the Princess Rhae said.

"What do you mean?" Lyanna asked.

"I know you are heading on the right path, but you must hurry. If you are strong enough, you will save them. Your son, and the other children are our dynasty's only hope. Your boy shall be the greatest of them all," the old woman said.

"Princess, perhaps you should come with us as well. From what I have _seen_ , Robert Baratheon's wrath will make no one with true Targaryen blood safe." Lyanna implored the old woman.

"I am King Maekar's daughter, and I will not allow Robert Baratheon of all people to run me out of mine own home. His own grandmother, my niece Rhaelle, must be turning in her grave at the actions of her own blood. Besides, he won't have any real power in Dorne in any case. Prince Doran will ensure both mine and Starfall's safety. I shall also be of better use to your son here, where I can keep an eye on things as well as help to ensure your son has strong allies in the future. He will have need of them," the fierce old lady stated.

Ser Arthur and the Lady Ashara both looked worried about leaving their grandmother in Starfall, but they admitted she was more than likely right. Prince Doran would ensure no Baratheon or Lannister soldiers were allowed in.

At dawn the following morning, all in their party were ready to depart. Ashara Dayne had told both her brother and Lyanna in no uncertain terms that she would be going with them. Elia was her best friend, and with Brandon gone, Lyanna and her child were her daughter Elaena's closest ties to her father. They left with the dawn as the bright Dornish sun illuminated the sea in a beautiful tapestry of blues and greens.

During the voyage, Lyanna would easily admit that she was no fan of sea travel.

"Direwolves and water do not mix," she told Ashara as they occupied themselves with playing with Ashara's little daughter.

Whilst they had been friendly acquaintances before, Lyanna and Ashara got to know one another better throughout the seemingly never-ending voyage. It was not long until the two proud, independent, and beautiful women were fast friends. Underlying everything though, was the tension they all were feeling that they would be too late to prevent the nightmarish visions Lyanna had seen. They each did their best to distract themselves, as they were truthfully doing all in their power to prevent that nightmarish end.

One evening, Lyanna and Ashara were on the deck of the ship watching as the sun set over the horizon. Both were seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Ashara finally voiced a question which had been plauging her mind for some time now.

"If we are successful in all of this, what will we do? Where can we go? I haven't the slightest notion of how we could hide, and if your visions are correct...well, Robert Baratheon and Tywin Lannister will hunt us to the ends of the world. What kind of life will we be able to give to our children Lya?" Ashara questioned as she looked down at her little girl.

That particular question is one that had been haunting Lyanna for some time. What did the future hold for them? Sadly, it was one she did not have an answer for. Not yet, at any rate. She had some vague ideas, but nothing was readily apparent to her.

"I don't know Ash. When we have Elia and the Queen, hopefully we'll be able to figure out something. I do know we must all stick together. We cannot allow the children to be separated. I don't think hiding in Dorne would be possible. There's simply too many of us, and I doubt it would be hard for them to find us, as that would be the first place any would think to look. The only ideas I've really had were either someplace in a very remote corner of my father's domain, or rather my brother's lands now I suppose; or across the Narrow Sea to Essos," Lyanna said quietly.

"There are parts of the North that are so isolated that I doubt we'd ever be found. The loyalty the people have to my family would help, but the climate I imagine would be less than agreeable to a Dornishman. There are several islands that certainly have no contact with any other part of the Seven Kingdoms save for remote contact with Winterfell. I seriously doubt anyone would ever even think to look for us there. Perhaps the Free Cities would be better, I just don't know," she explained.

Lyanna decided to lighten the mood up a bit.

"You know Ash, had Elaena been born a boy, I would have paid good gold to see the look on Catelyn Tully's face when she met the new heir of the North," Lyanna told Ashara with a mischievious grin.

"You and me both Lya," Ashara said with a grin just a big.

"I take it you were not overly fond of the Lady Catelyn?" Ashara asked curiously.

"Fond of Madame Septa, as I call her? Hardly. Personally, I don't think my father could have found anyone less suited to betroth his heir and his daughter to if he had tried. Catelyn would have driven Brandon absolutely insane with her precious adherence to all proprieties, and I would have most likely gutted Robert Baratheon on my wedding night," Lyanna told her with a smirk.

Ashara burst into peals of laughter at Lyanna's bold opinion of those two. She could easily see the She-Wolf doing just that to the Usurper.

The two women looked back out to the sea in better spirits as each fervently prayed their journey would be successful. They simply could not allow the future Lyanna _saw_ to come to pass. The future of all Westeros depended on their success. Their children would live no matter what they had to do. Nothing was more important or precious to them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

 **Author's Note-** _Thanks for the reviews. This chapter should answer some questions. The next chapter will be out either later today or tomorrow. Like I said, they are all pre-written, I'm just doing a bit of editing._

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing. 

They had made it. Thank the gods they had made it to the capitol in time. After docking in the night and finding Lord Varys waiting on them, they were told that the forces of Tywin Lannister were merely hours away. If they intended to escape in the chaos that would soon engulf the capitol, they would need to hurry. Time was of the essence.

Varys told them Jaime Lannister was the only Kingsguard left in the city. Lyanna had _seen_ what he would end up doing to the Mad King, and she had absolutely no desire to stop him. She only wished he would make it hurt more.

It was decided between them that only Ser Arthur and Lady Ashara would be entering the palace proper. Lyanna was simply to large to move around very easily anymore with her advanced state of pregnancy. Lyanna had another suggestion of what Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell could do while the Dayne siblings retrieved Princess Elia and her children. Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell were going to aid a few trusted servants in following a tunnel that led from the very bowels of the Red Keep, where the Treasury was kept, all the way back to the docks. Time permitting, they would empty every last piece of gold and anything else of value they could possibly find, and load it on to the ship. Aerys would be dead soon, and they would need every advantage they could get if they were to all survive exile.

Varys already had things well in hand. The gold cloaks that patrolled the docks that night were paid by him, and would be turning a blind eye to anything they saw. He had also been as good as his word in arranging replacements. As much as she knew she was signing these people's death warrants, she could not allow herself to think of that now. Varys had gotten the agreement of a Dornishwomen and her young daughter that was in the employ of the paramour of Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard (who had recently fallen at the Trident leading the Dornish forces of the Crown's army). Lyanna did not know, nor did she wish to know if the woman was aware of what was to come. Varys said he had arranged things for Aegon as well, but truthfully Lyanna paid that part of the plan little mind. She did not particularly care where the boy was concerned, except that she hoped he lived. Of course, most people did not know what she knew about the young 'prince'. 

* * *

_Ser Arthur Dayne's POV_

Hooded and cloaked, the three elite members of the Targaryen Kingsguard, along with the Master of Whispers, set out in to the night. Before they left, the Princess Lyanna looked at each of them sternly.

"My husband may have passed, but his heirs live on. Protect the Princess Elia and the children. Bring them to safety. Get what you can before the Usurper uses it to hunt us down. Our lives and the life of Rhaegar's unborn son are within your hands Sers. Do your duty," Lyanna had told them as fiercely as any she-wolf.

One by one, Ser Gerold, Ser Oswell, and myself got down on bended knee in front of the strong little slip of a girl that had earned the respect of all present.

"We will not fail you My Princess," the three of us intoned solemnly as one.

With that oath sworn, we departed into the streets of Kings Landing hooded and cloaked as silent as ghosts. This was quite possibly the most important mission of our lives. Failure was simply not an option.

Not far from the docks, a group of men awaited us that had been previously arranged by Varys. They would lead my other two sworn brothers through the tunnels to where Aerys had hoarded his ever expanding treasury for the past two decades. Mad he may be, but the man horded wealth like a true dragon of legend.

I turned to my brothers. Each of us felt we had so much to make up for. If only Rhaegar had allowed us to accompany him to the Trident, none of this would be necessary.

"Gerold, Os; be careful, and good luck. I pray we finish soon and are successful. May the gods be with us tonight," Arthur told them in farewell as they parted ways to set upon their appointed tasks.

"And with you Arthur," Ser Gerold told him while Oswell merely nodded his head solemnly.

Several minutes later, Arthur was climbing down what appeared to be a drainage pipe, but was actually an entrance to the maze of tunnels Maegor had built into the Red Keep. Upon reaching the bottom, a lone torch was on the stone wall to the immediate right. After setting it alight, he began to follow along the path Lord Varys was directing him.

It was rather ironic really. Over the past several years, Arthur had thought Varys to be quite possibly the least reliable man in the King's council. It always appeared to Arthur that Varys was somehow using the King's madness for his own gain; to which he seemed to be remarkably adept at. Most members of the court, Arthur could discern what their aims and goals were. Most were easy enough to distinguish. Varys however, was another matter entirely. He could honestly say he had not the foggiest notion of where the man's loyalties lay. Of course it was entirely possible the man was loyal only to himself and himself alone.

That was the reason for Arthur's surprise that the Master of Whispers was not only helping, but was organizing this rescue in its entirety.

They continued walking through the seemingly unending amount of tunnels ever closer to their destination. Arthur had a few questions to ask at the moment.

"Well Master of Whispers, tell me; how far are the armies of Lord Tywin from the city?" Arthur asked the eunuch.

"Close Ser Arthur, very close indeed. I believe them to be no more than twelve hours out at the most. The Lion is using a forced march. I'm not entirely certain what he intends to do exactly, but I have extreme doubts that it would bode well for any member of the real royal family. It was only when word reached him of the Silver Prince being slain that he decided to crawl out of his Rock. The King has dealt Lord Tywin far too many insults of late for there to be any hope that he has suddenly remembered his loyalty to his boyhood friend," said the Spider darkly.

"Does the Princess know we are coming to extract her?" Arthur asked.

"Indeed. I informed her several hours ago. She will be waiting with the children near the corridor that leads to the royal apartments. The doubles are already in place. They wouldn't fool anyone for long, but then again they don't need to. As you know, the King despises all three of them. By the time he would see them in person it will all be too late," Varys explained.

"Were you able to find an appropriate maester for the Princess Lyanna and the Queen? The Princess will be due very shortly, and the Queen in only a couple of months," I said as I relayed what the Princess's dreams foretold.

"Whether they come from the child within her, or from her own grandmother the Princess Vaella, I know not. Every last one of them however has happened exactly as she has forseen. We must needs do all in our power to ensure both women and the babes survive. The children will be in desperate need of the guidance they can impart." Ser Arthur said stressing what he thought was of the utmost importance.

"Yes, Ser Arthur; I have. The man should already be on your ship. However he is not a maester, though he has studied at the Citadel. He is one of my countrymen from Lys. His methods may appear unorthodox, but they should all but guarantee their lives," Varys said.

Arthur looked at the bald man piercingly through the semi-darkness of the tunnel. He could detect no lie or malice coming from the man. Once again he silently wondered what exactly was the end game of such a person.

"You have my thanks Varys. If all goes according to plan, where would you suggest we go? Even when we reach Dragonstone, the ships of Stannis Baratheon will not be long behind us. I expect us to have enough time to secure the royal navy, that shall definitely be an asset no matter what happens. Besides defense, it could even be used for trade. Would the Free Cities be best, or possibly some remote place in the North?" Arthur asked.

Varys was silent for a long moment as they continued onwards, thinking over the various possibilities of where exactly would be safe for the Royal Family to reside.

"I have a wealthy friend in Pentos that would be more than pleased to host them. There is also a possibility of the Stepstones, you should remember who resides there. It would be defendable, but those islands are rather close. Also, there are remote regions of the North that could be considered. The people are almost fanatically loyal to the Starks, and some areas are so isolated that concealing them all would not be a real problem. The drawback however would be that if Lord Eddard allowed it, he and his family would be in a great amount of danger if the Usurper got even a hint of it," the Spider explained.

"After the Princess and the Queen are delivered, and they are all together, more definite plans can be made. I do know this: when the Mad King is gone, the Old Dragon of the Stepstones will most likely do all in his power to ensure the safety of Queen Rhaella and her family as she has always been dear to him," Varys said.

"Yes, King Jaehaerys's younger brother has no love for Aerys," Arthur said.

The rest of the walk was spent in relative silence as the two unlikely allies were both lost in thought.

Arthur became more alert when they began ascending the rough rock hewn steps that would lead them into Maegor's Holdfast. When they finally exited the secret passage, they found themselves behind a tapestry. Arthur was relieved to see his sister Ashara standing there awaiting them with a servant in Vary's employ.

"Ah, good; you've arrived my lady. Now, when we come out from behind this tapestry we are nearly across the hall from the Princess Elia's apartments. Both she and the children should be waiting just inside. Be as quiet as possible. For the next few hours at least, Aerys still controls the city. Come now, we must hurry," Varys told the Dayne siblings.

Varys slowly pulled back the tapestry and peered down the corridor looking left and right to ensure there was no one else about. He then motioned for them to follow him. They did so quietly and entered the corridor. Elia's rooms were a mere few meters away.

Varys made a scratching sound on the door of the Princess's room that sounded almost like a cat. Arthur figured it must be a signal they had arranged. They followed Varys into the room when the door was cracked open by a servant Arthur recognized from the Princess's household.

Arthur's eyes alighted on Princess Elia holding the hand of little Princess Rhaenys along with a wet nurse holding a baby, and sighed in relief that they were all still safe. Now, he only needed to ensure it stayed that way.

Elia ran in to Ashara's arms and the two friends embraced joyfully.

"Thank the gods you've made it! Ash, it's so wonderful to see you again," Elia exclaimed.

"And Arthur, you are certainly a most welcome sight to these tired eyes. I was beginning to lose hope," she told him.

"We must make haste My Princess," Varys said.

"The King cannot be allowed to find out and the Lannisters are nearly at the gates. We must get you and the children out immediately," Varys explained.

"As you say Lord Varys," Princess Elia said as she brought herself back together and appeared to steel her resolve.

"Come, Sweet Girl. We must be very quiet as we leave the palace. We are taking a secret way, and are about to set off on an adventure," Elia explained to the little princess.

"Yes, Mother. I'll be quiet. Let's go," she said bravely.

Arthur looked towards the little princess. He felt a surge of relief deep in his soul that Rhaegar's eldest child still lived; that they had thwarted the heinous crimes Lyanna had _seen_ in her visions.

"Princess, would you mind if I carried you down to the ship? We must needs be quick, and I have missed you Little Princess," Arthur said to Rhaenys.

They did need to hurry, and he would feel better knowing she was safe in his arms.

Rhaenys bobbed her head up and down as she grinned up at Arthur and raised her arms up towards him. He hoisted her up into his arms and spun her around causing her to giggle as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Princess Elia smiled up at the adorable scene. She knew both Arthur and Ashara loved her daughter as if she were their own blood.

"Quietly now. Let us make haste," Varys said.

Varys was the first one out as he checked the hallway to make certain it was still deserted. One by one they all joined him as he held the tapestry back that was hiding the secret entrance to the tunnel. With a far less anxious countenance than when he entered the tunnel, Arthur held on to Rhaenys tightly as he led the way all through the long and twisting corridors of the serpentine like tunnel.

"Maegor must have been one paranoid bastard to have built all these secret tunnels running throughout his own home," Ashara stated curiously.

Varys snorted inelegantly.

"He needed them my lady. There have been very few men with as many enemies as he made for himself. Not to mention the numbers of paramours the man kept. Though, I would say our current king does come close. I can't imagine many men have had the same ability to turn even the most loyal of men away from the madness that has befallen the Crown," Varys explained.

"Don't I know it," Arthur heard Elia mumble.

They continued walking at a brisk pace even as the light from the torch cast shadows upon the walls that produced a feeling of deep unease. Elia brought him out of his maudlin reverie as he held Rhaenys closer to himself as if to ward off any fell beast that might lurk in the shadows.

"Arthur, how are Lya and the baby doing?" Elia asked him.

He turned his head slightly to see her and smiled to ease her nerves.

"They are both doing very well. Though I must admit that trying to keep a she-wolf relaxed and in one spot, even a heavily pregnant one, is an unenviable task. Lyanna was never one to sit idly by as events carry on. I swear, were it not for the baby, I don't think we would have had much luck at all preventing her from taking up her sword and killing off the Usurper's army's single handedly," Arthur said.

Elia smiled at his that statement of truth.

"I can well imagine her doing just that," Elia said.

"I can't wait to meet my new brother or sister," Rhaenys said.

Arthur smiled down at her.

"Which would you rather have Princess?" Arthur asked the little girl.

Rhaenys was silent for a moment as she thought the question over.

"I think I should like a little brother. Girls are boring, a little brother would be more fun to play with." Rhaenys said.

Little Rhaenys then showed just how intelligent she truly was with her next statement.

"Besides, my little brother would then be king after the Mad one. Any son of my father would be better than Viserys. He reminds me of Grandfather too much," Rhaenys explained.

Arthur was not the only one that was positively shocked by the little girls true understanding of the situation. They were also surprised by her comments regarding the six year old Prince Viserys. She was a remarkably astute judge of character to be able to see the, at present, rather subtle similarities the young boy bore to his mad father.

Everyone was rather quiet as they continued on. All of them were still thinking on the words of the young princess. Yes, young Viserys was somewhat similar to his father, but as long as the Queen survived, she would keep him grounded and hopefully stable. Still, most of them hoped that Lyanna was right, and she was carrying Rhaegar's son instead of another daughter. It would be much better for the future of House Targaryen if Lyanna did give birth to Rhaegar's heir.

It was not much longer before they came to the entrance of the tunnel. They had made it. In this instance at least, the fate that would have befallen most of Rhaegar's family had been averted; for the moment. 

* * *

_Lyanna's POV_

'How much longer could they be? Had something happened to them? By the gods, what if they had been caught by the Mad King?' Lyanna thought as various scenario's played out within the troubled confines of her mind. Each thought was more worrisome than the next as she paced the deck of the ship back and forth. It just didn't bear thinking about, but she was unable to still her troubled mind.

Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell had come and gone several times with a rather large number of servants Varys had secured as they steadily emptied the Royal Treasury of everything of value. They had all been stunned, not only by the amount of gold, but by the objects held within that none had known were there.

Lyanna had never suspected the Mad King had been harboring wealth on such a scale. She knew from what Rhaegar had told her that Aerys, despite his madness or mayhaps because of his madness, had been steadily hoarding more and more gold as the years went by. He rarely spent anything that was not absolutely necessary.

'What wouldn't I give to see the look on his face when he found out that all of his preciously hoarded wealth had been stolen right out from under his feet,' Lyanna thought with a smirking smile of amusement.

Of course it was highly likely Aerys would never find out in any case, what with the Lannister army nearly upon them. She highly doubted the mad man would live through the next day.

'It was such a pity,' she thought.

'I would have dearly loved to have been the one to drive a sword through his guts myself for what he did to Father and Brandon,' Lyanna thought savagely.

She would also be highly amused by the sight of Tywin Lannister and Robert Baratheon's faces when they learned there was naught a single piece of gold to be had; that Robert had usurped a now bankrupt throne. She knew with absolute certainty that one of the main reasons for Lord Tywin's extreme forced march was to be able to lay his golden hands on the treasures he knew to be in the bowels of the Red Keep.

Varys had suprised her yet again. Although she still did not know exactly what to think of the eunuch or have any idea as to what his true motives were, she could certainly not deny his ingenuity. It had quickly become apparent that they would not be able to safely transfer even half of the treasure onto the Dayne's ship. Varys had apparently anticipated this, as he had another ship that was larger and able to hold far more docked next to them ready and waiting to follow them to Dragonstone. Lyanna was relieved that at the very least the Royal Family would not be forced to rely on anyone else as far as their monetary needs were concerned. Those funds would prove very beneficial for their future.

After several more minutes of waiting and pacing on the deck of the ship, Lyanna was filled with a deep feeling of utter relief as she spied Ser Arthur, who was carrying the beautiful little Princess Rhaenys, Princess Elia, a wet nurse holding a fair-haired young babe, along with Lord Varys and Lady Ashara. Lyanna made her way towards the group.

Princess Elia was quick to make her way towards her sister-wife. Elia greeted the heavily pregnant Lyanna with a fierce embrace, so very grateful for the fate she and her child had narrowly avoided.

"Lya! By the gods am I glad to see you," Elia told her.

Elia grabbed her hands and squeezed them gently.

"I will never be able to thank you enough for what you've done for us. If you hadn't come...I can't imagine what would have befallen us. You are a true sister of my heart Lya," the Princess Elia said in true heartfelt gratitude.

"I could do nothing else Elia. We are family, and you and your little girl are as dear to me as mine own blood. Besides, you would have done the same for me," Lyanna replied.

"Still, I thank you; and you're correct. If it were in my power, I would certainly do the same. I swear to you Lya, on the Old gods and the New, I will forever do all in my power to protect you and your child," Elia told her in a serious tone.

Lyanna just smiled to her.

"Like I said, you are my sister; now and always," Lyanna told her.

Arthur had set little Rhaenys down by this point, and she ran up to Lyanna.

"Lya!" Little Rhaenys exclaimed as she gave Lyanna a tight hug.

"Hello, Little Princess," Lyanna told her brightly.

"I have missed you Little One," Lyanna told her.

"Missed you too," Rhaenys mumbled into Lyanna's skin.

What most of Westeros was unaware of was the state of the relationship between the two consorts of the late Crown Prince. Most would think the two would be at the least indifferent towards one another, if not outright antagonistic. That however, could not be further from the truth. Princess Elia had been right there with Rhaegar and had wholeheartedly approved of Lyanna Stark. She was very aware of Rhaegar's need for another high-born wife, and for everything Rhaegar had done to help Elia, she had given him her full support in finding a sister-wife. If the people had any idea of the truth of the situation, they would not be so quick to judge.

"My Princess's; you must make haste. The Lannister forces are approaching the gates. Sail to Dragonstone. Take charge of the Royal Fleet. The Velaryons will aide you. The Queen is heavily pregnant as you know. Get her and Prince Viserys aboard the ships and flee. Queen Rhaella has a relation in the Stepstones that will help you. I also have friends in Pentos that would be more than happy to help. I also imagine Lord Stark will give what aid he can when he learns the truth of the matter. For now, the most important thing is getting yourselves and your children to safety. They must be allowed time to grow. The time will come when they shall return and take back what is theirs with fire and blood," Lord Varys told seriously.

"We shall do as you say Lord Varys. Thank you again for helping our family," Elia told the man.

"It will not be forgotten," Lyanna said.

"May the Old gods and the New watch over Your Graces," Varys told them as the ship began to drift out into the Blackwater; the second ship following them closely behind.

The sun was just beginning to rise as the two ships carrying the Royal Family and three hundred years of the Targaryen legacy made their way out into the open sea.

Princess Elia and Princess Lyanna stood side by side as they looked back towards the capitol. Elia reached for Lyanna's hand when they saw the first of the fires begin and the wind carried the occasional scream through the air to whisper their terror to the princesses ears. The Lion of Casterly Rock had come. It appeared he wasted no time in ordering his men to sack the city. The daughter of the Sun and the daughter of Winter both prayed to their respective gods that the innocents be yet spared.

"One day Sister, I will see to it that the Lannister's pay for their treachery," Lyanna vowed to Elia in a low voice as cold as the Wall in Winter.

Elia just stared stoically ahead as another scream from the capitol reached their ears.

"They will burn," Elia said in complete agreement.

* * *

Little did the Lannisters know or understand that even though the people of the capitol city held little love for the Mad King, the same could not be said of the rest of the Royal Family. Tywin Lannister underestimated the loyalty of a people to the family that had not only built their fine city, but had brought them by and large, great amounts of prosperity. The people of Kings Landing had not had their lives threatened since the Dance of Dragons a century and a half before. One insane monarch, who had only been truly insane since the Defiance of Duskendale, (and even then Aerys's antics had not really had much of an effect on their lives) was nowhere near enough for the common people to forget the prosperity Targaryen rule had brought to them. As the Lannisters and Baratheons bled the realm of their life's blood, and the unrepentant extravagance of Robert's reign brought the commoners lower than they had ever been, they would one day pay the cost of their ignorance in a debt of fire and blood.

Soon the capitol had faded completely from view. As they passed Driftmark, young Lord Monford Velaryon came aboard their vessel. His relief on sighting just who was on the ship was palpable. He sent a large portion of the Velaryon Fleet to guard them as he joined them on the short voyage to Dragonstone.

It did not take long before the sharp spires and the massive bulk of Dragonstone came into view. They were all relieved to see the banners of the three-headed red dragon still flying proudly from atop Dragonstone's battlements as well as each of ships of the large Royal Fleet.

They were just disembarking from the ship when Lyanna abruptly grabbed on to Ser Arthur's arm as she was swept by a wave of pain.

She looked down to see her dress stained with fluid...and blood. Her water had broken.

"Arthur, Elia; it's time," Lyanna said as she grit her teeth tightly as she was hit with a wave of pain.

Elia immediately took charge; worry and anticipation swirling in her gut for her friend and savior.

"Quickly Arthur, we must get her into the castle. The Queen will help us," she said.

Elia turned to look at the man that Lord Varys had sent them.

Their eyes met and she silently implored the man to do all he could to help both Lyanna and the babe safely survive the birth.

The man nodded in acknowledgement.

They were soon through the entrance of Dragonstone where they were met with the heavily pregnant form of Queen Rhaella. Rhaella's face showed utter relief when she saw both wives of her son and her grand-daughter being escorted in by three members of the Kingsguard and Lord Monford Velaryon. They widened in alarm however when she noticed Lyanna was apparently in labor. Rhaella took charge of the situation immendiately. If what her sources reported was true, then her good-daughter could very soon be bringing the next Targaryen King into the world.

"Ser Arthur, take the Princess Lyanna to the birthing chambers. They are already prepared for my own delivery," the Queen ordered as she led the way.

She looked to the man Lord Varys's raven had assured her would help in both Lyanna's, as well as her own delivery.

"I do hope, for your own sake, you are as good as the Lord Spider claims," the Dragon's daughter told the man.

He visibly gulped when he noticed the fire in the Queen's eyes.

He would do what he must. He daren't do otherwise. Failure was simply not an option.

Lyanna was soon ensconced in the prepared chamber. Both Queen Rhaella as well Princess Elia refused to leave her side. Ashara was waiting with Rhaenys. She was having an incredibly difficult time during the birth. Her screams could be heard throughout Dragonstone as nearly everyone in the castle waited with baited breath for news. However in the end, the healer sent to them by Varys proved to be a life saver.

The man was originally from Volantis and went by the name of Aelix Vaeloris. He was the son of an old Volantine family and his mother hailed from Lys. No one was sure exactly what his credentials were, but all three of the royal women felt certain he must have some form of magical training.

It was late in the evening when the wails of a new born babe were finally heard after the seemingly unending hours of Lyanna's pained screams.

Eventually, a dishevelled Queen Rhaella emerged from the room holding the babe.

The Princess Rhaenys and the Kingsguard were there waiting.

"My Queen?" the Lord Commander Ser Gerold asked with a look of anticipation.

Queen Rhaella looked tired and beautiful holding the babe, and all present could see the fire burning in her amethyst eyes.

"Gentlemen, Princess Rhaenys, it is my very great pleasure to present to you His Grace King Jaehaerys III Targaryen. King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm," the now Dowager Queen said in a regal voice.

All present got down on bended knee and swore their ever-lasting fealty to the baby king.

Earlier in the day they had received word from the capitol. Jaime Lannister had killed the King, and Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch were thought to have killed Princess Elia, Princess Rhaenys, and 'Prince' Aegon. The Lannister army had completely sacked the city, killing and raping anyone in their path. The Iron Throne had been claimed for Robert Baratheon.

When brought the news, Queen Rhaella seemed snap back even more to life. Ser Gerold had observed proudly as the fiery young princess that had been the sparkling gem of both King Aegon V, and later her father King Jaehaerys II's court, was once again returned to them all. Her tormentor was finally gone. After all these years, she was finally free of Aerys. Now, they could also tell their household the truth surrounding Aegon.

Ser Willam Darry had asked if they should now proclaim Prince Aegon or Prince Viserys king when the new of Aerys' death reached them. He was surprised when told they must wait and see if Lyanna birthed a son.

The man had been shocked senseless when he asked why that mattered as Prince Aegon was next in line for the throne. Queen Rhaella was glad to be able to finally explain the truth to the loyal knight.

And so he learned the true story surrounding the birth of 'Aegon' Targaryen. How after the birth of the Princess Rhaenys, it was revealed that Princess Elia would never be able to conceive again; at least not without the almost certainty of her own death. They all knew that if this news found its way to King Aerys, Princess Elia would not live out the month before an 'accident' of some sort had befallen her. So it was that the roots of the conspiracy that resulted in the Silver Prince's second marriage to Lyanna Stark took place. Queen Rhaella contacted her uncle Daeron Targaryen, who lived in the Stepstones. The man was sent to find an infant, preferably a descendant of the Blackfyres, that could be passed off as the son of the Prince of Dragonstone. All the while, Princess Elia and the few people in on the truth, faked a pregnancy in front of the whole of Westeros. Since she was known not to be able to tolerate Grand Maester Pycelle, Aerys never learned the truth. Accordingly, Elia went into 'labor' on Dragonstone, and brought the Blackfyre babe (that was a grandson of Maelys the Monstrous through the boy's mother) to the capitol to present him to the King. Aerys never suspected a thing. Elia and Rhaegar only planned to reveal the truth whenever an actual son had been born to him by his second wife.

Those who had not known the secret now looked on in awe at who they now knew to be the only son of the Silver Prince.

The Queen had then gone to fetch her last remaining son Prince Viserys. The six year old prince was brought to his little nephew. Queen Rhaella had explained that the bad men had killed his father. Although Rhaella had done all she could to shelter her younger son, he knew enough of what went on that he was not overly aggrieved at the loss of his father. At least now he could no longer hurt his dear mother.

She explained that his good-sister Lyanna had just given birth to Rhaegar's only son, and now his nephew was King. As his elder Uncle, it was now Viserys's responsibility to look after the boy as if he were his own brother.

"Will you do this for me Little Dragon? Will you be a good big brother to Jaehaerys as Rhaegar was to you? He is the King now, and we must do all we can to ensure his safety," Rhaella explained patiently.

Viserys eyed the baby with open curiosity. He had mostly curly black hair except for the front which was the silver blonde of the Targaryens. He looked to be a perfect mixture of Rhaegar and Lyanna.

"Will he be a better king than father?" Viserys asked his mother.

"Yes, Sweetling. We will all make sure of it," Rhaella told her son seriously.

"Alright Mother," Viserys said softly as he got down on one knee.

"I, Viserys of House Targaryen, son of King Aerys and Queen Rhaella do swear my fealty and obedience to my rightful King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, Third of His Name. King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm. From this day to my last. Welcome to the family," Viserys said with all the seriousness a six year old could muster.

This earned his a beaming smile from his mother.

Princess Rhaenys then approached her newborn little brother.

She peered curiously at the babe held in her grandmother's arms.

"Hello, Little Brother," Rhaenys whispered.

"He looks just like Father and Lya," she said.

"Yes, he looks a great deal like Rhaegar," Queen Rhaella said with a pained smile at the mention of her late son.

"Don't worry Little Brother, I promise to always look after you. I won't let the bad men get you too," the precocious little princess promised.

After the Queen returned the baby to his exhausted but alive mother, Princess Elia finally exited the birthing room. She looked as exhausted as the Queen. She held Rhaenys' hand as they looked out onto the sea surrounding Dragonstone from a balcony. Fire and smoke could be seen coming from several ships that had entangled with vessels loyal to the Usurper. Waves lapped onto the sheer cliff walls of Dragonstone, and mingled with the salt that sprayed from the depths. Rhaenys tugged on Elia's hand as she pointed upwards towards the sky. Curious, Elia felt her breath catch as she looked up to see the bright bleeding star, a beautiful comet, trek across the night sky.

"So it has begun," she whispered.

"Born amidst salt and smoke under a bleeding star," Elia said as the words of the old prophecy of the Prince that was Promised came back to her.

"Did you make a wish on the star Mother?" Rhaenys asked Elia.

Elia closed her eyes as she wished and prayed desperately that their children make it off that island, and live to grow up whole and happy.

"Yes, my darling girl. I did. Did you?" Elia asked her curiously.

"Of course Mother," Rhaenys said smiling up at her.

Ser Arthur approached the pair silently.

"How does Lyanna fair?" Arthur asked Elia.

"The birth was extremely difficult. She would not have made it through had it not been for Aelix Vaeloris. He somehow managed to stop the bleeding. He almost assuredly saved her life. Now, she just needs rest," Elia explained.

"I think we all need some rest," Ser Arthur said quietly as he too looked up at the night sky, his eyes widening in surprise. Arthur knew what the signs meant. He too knew of the prophecy.

"So it has begun," Arthur said echoing Elia's own words.

"Indeed," Elia said. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Waking the Dragon**

 **Chapter II**

 **Author's Note:** _Here's the next chapter. Chapter three should be up tomorrow. It will have the Stark's finally making an appearance._

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing

 **Chapter II  
**

* * *

Three days later, thanks to the healing at the hands of Vaeloris, Lyanna was nearly recovered. She was certainly recovered enough so as to be able to sit in council with the others as they discussed what to do. They were all seated around the famed Painted Table of Dragonstone; the detailed map of the continent laid out before them.

"My Queen," Ser Gerold began.

She nodded her head for him to continue.

"As you know our situation is more than a little difficult. The news from the mainland reports that the Usurper and his allies now reside in the Red Keep. Lord Stark left some time ago to break the siege at Storm's End, and the Tyrell's bent the knee. They remained the largest force left that was loyal to the crown. Dorne is still officially loyal, but that can change at any moment, as they cannot hope to fight the combined might of the Usurper and his allies. Neither can we. While the fleet is loyal, there is really only so much they can do. Lord Varys reports that Baratheon has ordered his brother Stannis to assemble a fleet in preparation for an invasion of Dragonstone and the loyal islands of the Narrow Sea. The Usurper is determined to end Your Grace and your family. We must needs make preparations for a flight," Ser Gerold reported in a grim tone.

"The Spider said you had a relative that is loyal to Your Grace, and may be of help. Was he referring to whom I think he was?" Ser Arthur asked the Queen Dowager.

"Yes,that would be my uncle, Prince Daeron Targaryen on the Stepstones. He is my late father's only surviving brother. He was injured at Summerhall, but eventually recovered. Aerys never liked him, and the feeling was entirely mutual. He stayed in that keep of his for most of Aerys' reign. The Stepstones are disputed territory, as you know, and not truly ruled from the Iron Throne. He has a fleet of his own with trade agreements with some of the Free Cities; as such, the Stepstones are basically independent. He was close to my mother and myself when I was younger, and we have stayed in contact. I wrote to him not long ago. He replied, and said he and a detachment of his fleet would sail to Dragonstone." Rhaella explained.

"Would he be able to hide us?" Elia asked

"I would say we could go to Dorne, but I know that would be the first place they would look. At the moment, everyone believes myself and the children to be dead. I see no reason to alter that assumption. If we were to appear in Dorne, there would be no way to keep the secret. I'm sure that even if the Usurper does not, the Lannisters at the very least, do have eyes and ears there," Elia said.

"Yes, Dorne would be far to obvious. As to my uncle being able to shelter us, yes. Daeron would be able to hide us away in his islands. Virtually no one from the mainland ever steps foot in his keep, and any ship that gets too close that is not in alliance is raided. The pirates consider him their liege. He already wrote that housing us would be no real problem. I would trust him with my life. I am also reluctant to truly leave Westeros. We must find a way to hide, and bide our time in secret, while remaining in Westeros. Also, the children simply cannot be seen as foreign. However, it would be better at the moment for most of the world to think us all dead." Rhaella said.

"I must get word to my brothers. If they knew Rhaenys and I were alive, they would be able to lend us aid in secret. Also, we will need allies in the children's future." Elia told the group.

Up to this point, Lyanna had been strangely silent. She had yet to say anything about the plans. Elia noticed her sister was deep in thought.

"Lya, what do you think? Do you think we should contact your brothers as well?" Elia asked.

Lyanna was silent for a long minute as she gathered her thoughts.

Finally, she voiced what she had been dwelling upon for days now.

"The night Jon (she insisted they use Jon as a nickname for the little king as she thought Jaehaerys was a bit of a mouthful for a small child to learn; especially considering he was half Stark) was born I had another vision." Lyanna said.

Nearly everyone in the room was surprised at that. Most had thought the visions she had were because she was carrying a Targaryen Prince and it was more likely it was actually the babe having the vision.

Queen Rhaella looked deep in thought for a moment before looking towards Arthur Dayne with a questioningly raised eyebrow.

He seemed to understand what she was silently asking as he nodded his head in concurrence. He had the same thought as well.

"I do believe you have inherited your grandmother's gift my dear." Queen Rhaella said.

"Who was the Princess's grandmother?" Ser Willam asked.

"The Princess Vaella Targaryen. She was the daughter and only child of King Maekar's son Daeron. Her claim to the throne was actually considered in the Great Council of 233. She had no wish to be queen though, and gave them and all the world the appearance that she was simple minded. She wasn't of course, but her ploy worked. She was also later Lord Rickard Stark's mother. To my knowledge, she is still alive in Winterfell?" Rhaella said questioningly looking towards Lyanna.

"Yes, Grandmother is still very much alive. She's just past sixty now," Lyanna said.

"What did you see?" Queen Rhaella asked her.

"Many things. Some made sense; some did not. One thing I am sure of is that I saw us in the far North; on Bear Island in fact. The Mormont's are fiercely loyal to my family, and the She-Bears welcomed us like family. I also saw us on the Stepstones with Prince Daeron. I think we spent time in both places. I know that it would be very difficult for us to be seen on Bear Island. Besides a few traders, the Island is completely isolated. It is both remote as well as large enough that we could remain unseen by any outsiders. That will also involve my brothers. I know Ned would never allow harm to befall us, especially when he learns the truth. I just hate putting him in this position. If Robert were to ever discover he had been aiding us, they would be in grave danger," Lyanna explained.

Everyone thought over what she said she saw.

"The Mormont's loyalty to your family is legendary. I do believe Bear Island would be remote enough their would be little risk in being discovered. The climate might leave something to be desired, but the idea has a great deal of merit. The fleet could also be used by both the Stepstones and the North. As the North has no real fleet, this could be used to open commerce on their western shore and be economically beneficial to the North," the Dowager Queen stated.

"Did you see anything else?" Ashara asked Lyanna.

She was silent for a moment as she tried to piece together what she had seen.

"I saw us leaving Dragonstone with the fleet. However what I saw...well, it makes no sense to me and makes me question everything I saw. I can hardly believe something so fantastical," she said.

"What was it?" Rhaella asked.

"We blew it up, and they were born from the fire and blood of the dead," Lyanna said to the confusion of all.

"Blew what up?" Ser Oswell inquired.

"Dragonstone. I saw Stannis Baratheon and several thousand of his men at the least disembark from their ships and storm the island. However, after the last man had entered the keep, the castle blew up as wildfire engulfed it entirely. Every last one of the Usurper's men burned within seconds. I saw sailors loyal to us sail back towards the island and take command of Stannis's fleet as well. That part, all of it, I understood. I know we could arrange something like that, and it might even help to fake the deaths of the Queen and Prince Viserys as virtually no one knows we're here. I also remember Rhaegar telling me their was a cache of wildfire in the bowels of Dragonstone. It's what came after that, what emerged from the rubble, that confuses and makes no sense to me," Lyanna explained to everyone.

Many of the men in the room nodded their heads at the thought of destroying Stannis and all his men, not to mention commandeering the Usurper's own fleet. Lord Velaryon in particular had a look of bliss on his face at the mere thought. Lyanna's ending however, confused them.

"What was it?" Elia asked.

"I cannot believe I'm saying this, but dragons. I saw seven baby dragons come out of the rubble," Lyanna said.

"Dragons?" Ser Willam said; patent disbelief coloring his words.

"Yes, I don't know how, but I know I saw seven tiny dragons emerge from the rubble," Lyanna said.

Silence descended on the group as they all digested Lyanna's words. Eventually, Princess Elia spoke up.

"Normally, I would say you were utterly crazed for seeing that. However, seeing as my daughter and myself are only alive today because of you and your visions, I believe we must consider the possibility. Are there actual dragon eggs on this island in the first place? I assume they would have had to have hatched from some of the petrified eggs I've heard about." Elia said.

"Yes." Queen Rhaella said. She was still attempting to digest Lyanna's vision.

"There are exactly seven eggs preserved here in the castle. We've had them for a great many years as they are actually from our own dragons. According to legend, they are believed to be a clutch of eggs from Balerion and Meraxes from before the Conquest. All of Lyanna's visions have so far been completely accurate. We cannot dismiss one simply because we believe it to be too fantastical. Imagine the power waiting for our children to re-claim their birthright with seven fully grown dragons. If this is true, by the time the children are approaching adulthood, the dragons would be truly massive in size. Who could hope to challenge such a force. It was dragons that won my family the Seven Kingdoms, perhaps it will be dragons that returns them to us," Rhaella said in a voice filled with wondrous hope for the future, and a new-found determination.

Like almost all Targaryens before her, she too was not immune to the lure of the dragons. Where those winged reptiles were concerned, it appeared all Targaryens reverted back to thinking of them with child-like wonder.

"So, do we wish to proceed with this plan? Do we lure Stannis Baratheon and his men onto the island? Let them enter the castle, and then blow them to the Seven Hells?" Queen Rhaella asked.

Eventually they all agreed that the actions that needed to be taken to allow Lyanna's vision to play out might as well be attempted. Dragons aside, it was an incredibly unique idea. It gave them an advantage over the Usurper, as he would not have the fleet necessary to track their movements for some time. It also gave them the opportunity to fake the Queen's death. It would be easy to let it be known that it was Queen Rhaella herself that 'lit the match' as one final act of defiance.

Ser Arthur then interjected with another idea to help them hide better.

"We also need a diversion. The Usurper will think that most of you are dead, but we need someone alive to pose as a decoy to keep them from even thinking in our direction until the children are older. There must also be a known Targaryen of the younger generation for the loyalists to maintain some level of hope," Arthur explained.

"Are you suggesting we separate one of them?" Ser Gerold asked with a frown, not liking that idea at all. He wanted all members of the Royal Family to be where he could protect them.

"Certainly not Gerold. You misunderstand me. I mean, we need to find someone that looks similar enough to say...Prince Viserys, that could be seen living in exile in the Free Cities. Let the spies think it is the real prince to better throw off any suspicion," Arthur elaborated.

Everyone pondered how to make this clever maneuver work. Eventually Lord Monford spoke up.

"Your Grace, I have a pair of bastard twin brothers that are the same age as the Prince. I don't believe most know there are two of them. Their names are Aurane and Aerion. One of them could pose as Prince Viserys in exile with say a member of your household. Perhaps Braavos to start with. I imagine they would need to move around fairly often. If Your Graces wish it, I would be honored to help. The boys would be honored to help their rightful King Jaehaerys as well. They are both smart boys. I believe this could be the perfect ploy," Lord Velaryon explained.

After much discussion over the logistics of the situation as well as plans to ensure the safety of the decoyed child, an agreement was reached. Queen Rhaella said she expected her uncle any day now, and they would begin to make preparations for the evacuation and explosion of Dragonstone. Everything that held any type of value, sentimental or otherwise, would be placed onboard the ships. The wildfire was also beginning to be distributed and properly hidden away. They arranged it so that a single arrow fired from one of their ships need only hit a certain target and the whole castle would go up in verdant flames.

It was during all of this, and one week after Prince Daeron Targaryen arrived from the Stepstones with his companion Ser Jeremy Norridge, that the Queen's water broke and she went into labor.

They were lucky Prince Daeron, one of the best mariners in the world, arrived when he did. It was by his efficient direction that almost the entirety of both the Royal and Velaryon fleets were saved from the fiercest storm that anyone had ever seen. Possession of the fleet would later prove one of the things that became a great help to the dynasty in exile.

Queen Rhaella spent two full days in excruciating pain trying to deliver her last child into the world. Throughout it all, Princess's Elia and Lyanna remained by her side. It was a combination of their encouragement and the probable magic of Aelix Vaeloris that both Queen Rhaella as well as her newborn daughter, called Daenerys Stormborn, survived. It was also right after the birth of the new princess that the storm finally broke.

When given the news that the Queen would live and had birthed a healthy daughter, everyone was filled with relief. Prince Viserys was especially grateful for his mother's survival. They all shuddered to think how awful it would have been for the young boy had he lost his mother. Queen Rhaella was an exceptionally strong and determined woman. It was her experience, wisdom, and fierce determination that anchored them all.

* * *

Just over a month after the birth of Princess Daenerys, word reached them that Stannis Baratheon had finally set sail for Dragonstone with around five thousand men. Everything that needed to be done to put their plan into motion had been completed. When they received the signal from one of the Velaryon ships near Driftmark, they all boarded the ships. One smaller vessel remained close enough to the shore to have a good vantage point from which to fire a flaming arrow. The ship was disguised as a fishing vessel and thus received no notice from Stannis's fleet.

In the past, Rhaella would have felt bad about leading her favorite cousin Steffon's second son to his demise. However, after the treasons and atrocities committed by and in the name of House Baratheon, any feeling of kinship to the Stormlords vanished. These bastards had come to her family's ancestral home for the sole purpose of exterminating her children, their own kin. They deserved no mercy from her, and they would receive none.

When they were sure Stannis and as many men as possible had entered the castle, the best archer among them Ser Oswell Whent, let loose the flaming doom. It was quiet for just a second after hitting its target, and they thought perhaps he had missed, when they saw and heard it...BOOM! An explosion of lurid green rocked not only the castle, but the island itself as explosion after explosion of wildfire took over. The entire castle was awash in green flames as all the strategically placed wildfire was ignited, one after the other. There was no possibility that anyone inside the castle could have possibly survived. Stannis Baratheon was most assuredly dead.

After the fires started, the signal was given and the Royal Targaryen Fleet sailed back to Dragonstone from where they had hidden themselves away. As the vast majority of Stannis's troops were on the island, many having been in the castle itself when the explosion occurred, it proved no trouble at all to take possession of all the Baratheon's ships. Any men found on the ships were immediately put to the sword. The small number of men that had been outside the castle, and therefore survived, were soon cut down by the Targaryen and Velaryon guardsmen. Of the over five thousand men that had accompanied Stannis Baratheon to Dragonstone, not a soul remained. They all considered it rather obvious personally that since the Baratheon troops found absolutely no resistance, that they were potentially walking into a trap. Apparently, no one considered Queen Rhaella enough of a threat to even entertain the possibility.

The known events of that day would go down as the most elaborate and successful trap in the history of Westeros.

It took three full days, and another storm, before the Targaryens were able to go through the destruction the wildfire had wrought. They were all surprised at how little actual structural damage the old castle took. The walls and the flooring that were stone were darkened with soot and ash certainly, but they still stood remarkably strong. Some of the stonework had been damaged and even melted in a few cases, but on the whole, everyone was relieved. It would actually be possible to restore the castle with minimal efforts. It was almost as if the old keep had some type of fire repellant magicks. Considering the fact that it had been built by dragon lords from Old Valyria, it was entirely possible that it did in fact have some type of enchantment on it.

It took three hours of searching, but they finally found them. They were right where they were supposed to be.

When they fled the castle, Queen Rhaella had arranged things to look like Lord Stannis would find her and Viserys in a certain portion of the keep near the dungeons. It was made to look like they had hidden themselves away in the treasure room. That room was also the room in which the seven eggs were placed. It had a trap door underneath it that the people impersonating Rhaella and her son could escape to when Stannis and his forces finally gained entry to the heavily barricaded room. Sliding the stone slab back in place with the pre-arranged help of men already in position inside the secret tunnel, they were saved from the flames that engulfed the castle above them. They took a great risk in the timing, but it was hoped their loyalty would prove worthwhile when Stannis Baratheon himself burned near the dragon eggs. Maester Aelix had said that he thought Stannis's blood, which possessed the blood of the Targaryen kings from Aegon V and all his predecessors as well as the old Storm Kings, would be of great help in waking the dragons from the petrified eggs.

He was right.

There in the treasure room, picking at what little remained of Baratheon and his men, were seven very much alive newborn dragons.

The game had changed dramatically in this one act and the fate of Westeros was forever changed. No one knew it yet, but the dragons had awoken. By the time the next generation of House Targaryen was ready to take their rightful places in the world they would be an unstoppable force. None could stand against the might of a dragon.

* * *

The family knew they had little time to waste. Knowing more of the Usurpers men would soon be on their way, they got back to the ships and sailed to Prince Daeron's keep in the Stepstones. All throughout the voyage they watched the young dragons in awe; still barely able to comprehend that they now had the first living dragons in well over one hundred years. Each of the little dragons seemed to have picked their own companions as well. Viserys was always smiling when his little blue dragon was around, and he followed the dragon every waking moment of his day. Rhaenys found herself with a red and orange dragon whose colors were ironically reminiscent of House Martell. Baby Daenerys had a dragon always trying to be near her that was a beautiful purple color similar to her own eyes. Queen Rhaella herself had a green and golden dragon that she showed nearly as much affection towards as she did the children. Prince Daeron was surprised when a golden colored dragon seemed to take a liking to him. Another surprise was when the silver and white dragon decided Lyanna was his companion. As she was only the grand-daughter of a Targaryen princess, her bonding to a dragon came as quite a surprise. Lyanna herself was especially surprised. She had thought one of the dragons would have taken to the Blackfyre child before one took to her as he at least looked Valyrian. The largest of them all however, was the ironically black and red dragon that formed an instant bond with baby Jon. The black dragon was indisputably the alpha of the dragons. It was by far the largest of them and already appeared fiercly protective of the infant King.

Without encountering any trouble, they landed safely at the harbor that led to Prince Daeron's keep. The castle sat high on the top of a cliff of sheer rock that looked to be impenetrable against outside assault. This was most assuredly a safe haven that would be extremly difficult to breach.

Once everyone had rested and gotten settled in, the surviving remnants of the Royal Family and their faithful retainers met to discuss what to do from there. They knew there was one last play that needed to be enacted. Lyanna Stark had to die.

The question was, how did they arrange her supposed demise. Lyanna herself found it slightly disconcerting planning her own end as far as the rest of the world was concerned. She knew she would have involve her brother Ned, at the very least.

Already, word was being sent to the Martell Princes Doran and Oberyn that both Rhaenys and Elia still lived. From their current location, discussions with Sunspear would be fairly easy. Even visits could be arranged in secret that would prove to be of little danger.

They knew Lord Stark was searching Dorne for his sister's location as Lord Varys had told him she was there. Lyanna needed to find a way to meet with her brother and together craft a story for the Usurper to give up his never ending, and in her opinion, mad quest for her. They had been told that already Tywin Lannister was attempting to force Cersei on the new 'king'. When they accomplished their task, it looked like the Lion would finally get his wish; his daughter would be queen. However, unfortunately for the Old Lion, his future grandson would never sit the Iron Throne.

"What about Starfall?" Lady Ashara asked; referring to a meeting place with Ned Stark.

It was soon decided that Starfall would be the best place to rendezvous with the Northern lord. A raven was dispatched written in Lyanna's hand for her brother to meet.

* * *

 _Lyanna's POV  
_

Lyanna, baby Jon, Ser Arthur, and Lady Ashara with her little daughter set sail for Starfall the following morning. The voyage was undertaken with the utmost caution as they could not allow anyone else to know of their survival. Lyanna was desperate to see her brother. She prayed to the Old gods that her brother did not blame her too harshly for her son's sake. She was terrified of him rejecting her, and more importantly her son.

They arrived at Starfall several days later. The small group of exiles waited till nightfall before entering the castle, hoping to keep their presense unknown. After freshening up, Lyanna sent for her brother. After several nerve-wracking minutes of waiting, the door finally opened. Lord Eddard Stark had a look of immense relief visible on his normally cold face as he finally laid eyes on his sister for whom Westeros was torn apart over.

"Lya!" Ned said in grateful relief.

Lyanna wasted no time in darting over and wrapping her arms around her now eldest brother.

"Ned! By the gods, have I missed you," Lyanna told him softly.

Ned's armed tightened around her. They broke apart and Ned held her at arms length, looking her up and down for any sign of an injury or something of the like.

Lyanna brought him over to a chair as she sat down to face him.

"What happened Lya?" Ned asked her; desperate to finally have the answers he had sought for near on two years.

"I hardly know where to begin," Lyanna said.

"The beginning is usually the best place to start," he said with a quirk of his lips.

And so she did. She explained what happened at the Tourney of Harrenhal, and her being the Knight of the Laughing Tree which led up to her meeting Prince Rhaegar alone after his father had sent him to deal with the 'threat'. She explained how they continued to meet, and her meeting Princess Elia. She described how desperate she was to avoid marriage to Robert Baratheon, a man she could not even tolerate, let alone love. Lyanna told her brother all about falling for the Prince, and his desire to marry her and make her his second queen. She explained that Princess Elia thoroughly approved, and the entire plot to save Elia from the Mad King by faking 'Prince Aegon's' birth.

"We were married on the Isle of Faces under the Weirwoods and again at the Sept of Dragonstone. I soon realized I was carrying a child, and we departed for Dorne. Until the Mad King was dealt with, it was too dangerous to have me in the capitol. Elia arranged for me to stay in the Tower of Joy not too far from Starfall," Lyanna explained.

Ned was silent as he digested all his sister was telling him. Finally he asked the question that had been bothering him from the start. Unlike Robert, Ned never truly thought his sister had been abducted, he just could not imagine Lyanna allowing herself to be kidnapped.

"Why, Lyanna? Why did you not at least leave a message...something, anything that would give us a clue as to what happened to you?" Ned asked, imploring her to answer.

"Ned, that is one thing I have never understood. I did leave word...and messages behind. I even left them with two different people in case something happend to the first person. I did not want anyone to worry; which is why I wrote out exactly what happened, as well as who I was with, and where I would be going. To this day, I have no idea what went on. Brandon never would have...he wouldn't..." Lyanna trailed off distraught, remembering the vision she later got of what were the ends of her brother and father.

"What? You actually did leave letters explaining everything? Then, how...? I mean everything would have been different if only we had known! Someone did this on purpose! Someone dared to help destroy our family intentionally! Who, Lyanna? By the gods Lya! Who did you leave the letters with?" Ned asked her; hardly being able to comprehend that someone had intentionally provoked the rebellion that led to many thousands of deaths.

"I was staying in Riverrun after Harrenhall as you know. I left one letter with Lady Catelyn's little friend Petyr. He swore it would reach my brothers. The other I left with Lord Hoster himself! That was the letter for Father. They were in correspondence and allies," Lyanna explained.

"Not that I doubt you Lya because this actually makes much more sense, but what possible reason could they have for withholding the truth? In fact, I think it was actually Baelish who told Brandon that the Prince had kidnapped you." Ned said.

"Ned...do you think they could have known about Brandon?" Lyanna asked.

"Wasn't that the boy who was in love with Cat?" Lyanna questioned.

"Knew what about Brandon? And yes, he challenged and lost a duel with Brandon," Ned replied.

"Ashara, Ned. Brandon married Ashara Dayne as soon as he found out she was having his child. Obviously, he was going to call off the betrothal," Lyanna explained.

"Hoster Tully never would have accepted that. He is a very proud and grasping man. He would not have stood for the slight to his daughter. Baelish would also have wanted Brandon out of the way. He probably knew exactly how he would react to what he told Brandon as well as what the Mad King would do to him." Ned told her.

"They planned it. By the gods Ned! They set our family up! I don't care if he is your good-father or not. I swear they will both die for what they have caused! So much death and destruction..." Lyanna trailed off.

"You'll find no objections from me. I already despised the man for the way he strong armed Jon Arryn and me to marry his daughters," Ned told her.

They were both silent a moment digesting what they had pieced together. They would have their vengeance, of that they were sure of. House Tully would rue the day they provoked the ire of the Kings of Winter.

"I have something to show you Ned," Lyanna finally told him.

"What would that be sister?" Ned asked.

"Just sit there. I'll be right back," Lyanna said.

A few moments after leaving the room, Lyanna returned with a most precious bundle held tenderly in her arms. She walked towards her brother and sat down in the chair next to him so he could meet his little nephew.

"Who is this?" Ned asked his sister.

"Brother, I'd like you to meet your very first nephew. His name is Jaehaerys, but we call him Jon," she said.

Ned was in awe as he looked at his sister's little boy. He was a truly beautiful babe with his mop of curly black and silver blonde hair and his deep violet eyes. He really did look like a perfect blend of Rhaegar and Lyanna. Ned knew he would grow up to be a heart breaker. How could he not when his parents were considered two of the best looking people in the entire continent.

"He's beautiful Lya. Truly, he is. Hello little Jon. I'm your Uncle Ned," he said to the baby.

Little Jon just looked at him with wide curious violet eyes. Suddenly he started to grin up at his uncle as he reached his little fists towards him, wanting to be held.

"I think he wants his uncle to hold him. Here Ned, you hold him just like this," she said placing the baby just right in his uncle's arms.

Baby Jon continued to give his uncle a gummy grin as he burrowed in closer to Ned.

"He likes you," Lyanna said.

"He's wonderful Lya," Ned told her.

"There's more you need to know Ned. You know how Grandmother used to tell us of some members of her family having the _sight_?" Lyanna asked.

"Yes, I remember the stories," he replied.

"All throughout my pregnancy I'd been plagued with visions. Every single one of them came true. What I am about to tell you is only known to a few people, and it must stay that way," she told him seriously.

"You have my word Sister," he told her solemnly.

"Thank you. I had a vision of the Sack of Kings Landing weeks before it happened," Lyanna said.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. What happened was...there are no words to describe what I felt about that," he said with a tone mingled with both disgust and a great deal of sadness.

"We saved them," she said quietly.

"What Lya? Saved whom?" Ned asked; an unknown feeling entering the pit of his stomach as he somehow knew what he heard next would be life altering.

"I sent word to Varys and we left immediately. We made it to the capitol just hours before the Lannisters. Varys had arranged doubles for them. We saved Elia, Rhaenys, and Aegon Blackfyre, and then sailed to Dragonstone." Lyanna explained.

"You saved them? They really survived?" Ned asked.

"Yes, we saved them all. Queen Rhaella's Uncle Daeron from the Stepstones came and saved the fleet from the storm and the healer Lord Varys sent with us saved the Queen and myself from dying when we both went in to labor. The Queen has a little girl, Daenerys is her name. Viserys is with us as well. Lord Velaryon sent one of his bastard twin brothers to Braavos with Ser Willam Darry to pose as Prince Viserys. They're all at Prince Daeron's castle at the moment until we can figure out what to do." Lyanna elaborated.

Ned was overwhelmed by what he heard. Virtually the entire Royal Family survived the Lannister butchery. Then he remembered the news he had recently heard.

"Was that you? They said that when Queen Rhaella died, she blew up Dragonstone; along with Stannis Baratheon and all his men. They can't even find his fleet and believe that is sank!" Ned exclaimed.

"Yes, that was all part of the plan to fake the Queen's death. Your child killing friend will not search for something he does not think exists anymore." Lyanna said, her tone particularly malicious when speaking of the Usurper.

"Something wondrous happened when the castle blew up though. I had seen it in my vision, but I didn't believe it to be possible. Sometimes I can still hardly believe it," she said.

"What do you mean?" Ned asked; his head still spinning with all the revelations his sister had imparted to him.

Lyanna handed Jon back to Ned and went into the next room. What she arrived with moments afterwards would give Eddard Stark what he would later describe as the greatest shock of his life. Perched upon Lyanna's shoulder was a small young silver and white dragon. The shock did not end there either as he spied another young dragon, this one a larger dragon of black and red, on the floor. The black dragon suddenly took flight and towards Ned and Jon, landing on the back of the wooden chair that sat next to them. Ned could swear that the dragon was chirping happily at the baby who suddenly smiled and clapped his hands in excitement at the dragon's presence.

Ned's mind was in a whirl. His sister and her son had dragons; real live, fire-breathing dragons. Targaryens were now once again in possession of the living symbol of their house.

"There are five more of them too, Ned." Lyanna told him.

And Ned had thought he couldn't be anymore shocked until what Lyanna told him next. They had seven dragons! Ned shuddered to think of how big they would be by the time the children reached adulthood.

"The Queen has one. Little Daenerys and Prince Viserys have one a piece. Rhaenys has her own dragon. The Queen's Uncle has bonded to one. Jon has his dragon, who you've already met. He's the biggest of them. And it appears as if this little one has chosen me as his companion." Lyanna explained.

"Well, with all the Targaryens alive, and having an armada of dragons, I think Robert may have some problems in the future." Ned said, as much to himself as to his sister.

"He certainly will," Lyanna stated fiercely.

"The Dowager Queen and the Kingsguard have already proclaimed my son as Jaehaerys III. I don't have any plans of going against the Lannisters and Baratheons at the moment, but when the children are older they will want to take back what it theirs. Robert Baratheon has no right to the throne." Lyanna stated when Ned made to interrupt.

"No, Ned. Allow me to finish. I fully acknowledge my part in the events that led up to the Rebellion, even though I thought I had left things more than clear so as not to cause any undue worry. That Aerys was mad and needed to go, I do not dispute. No one does, not even his own family. But Robert had no right declaring himself King. Even if Rhaegar had abducted me, a council should have been called. The fact that the bastards first acts were to reward Tywin Lannister for what he thought was the brutal rape and murder of innocent women and children is utterly despicable. He is unfit and unworthy of a crown. I know and realize you are friends with him, and I am not going to ask you to raise your banners in my son's name now, but I do need your help Ned. And hopefully when my son is a man grown and with seven fully grown and mounted dragons at his command you and our people will side with your blood over our enemies," Lyanna said passionately.

Ned was silent for a while thinking over everything his sister had said. His conscience was at war with itself. Friend or blood? Family or honor? Those thoughts kept on repeating themselves over and over again. He thought back to everything he had learned, all Lya had told him. He then looked down at the beautiful baby boy in his arms. This child was his blood; Stark blood. Ned had seen Robert walk over the corpses of who he believed to be Aegon and Rhaenys to mount his throne. He had seen already how the power was corrupting him. Robert would see this child dead. There was no doubt to that. The hatred he bore Rhaegar and any Targaryen had become its own source of madness in the man; blinding him from all reason.

No, he could not let that happen. His vows be damned.

He would see no more of his blood, or the blood of his blood perish.

He would do what he must to allow this child and his family time to learn and grow. They would have the chance to be happy in life. Then, he would side with them. He would give this boy his fealty. The only way they would ever be safe was to place him on the throne. Robert would never rest until his nephew and his family were dead if he knew they existed.

Besides, with seven fully grown real live dragons, entire armies would be nothing to the might of the dread beasts.

He handed Jon back to his mother and withdrew Ice from its scabbard as he got down on one knee.

Lyanna's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what her brother was about to do.

He placed Ice on the floor in front of his sister and nephew and took a deep calming breath.

"I, Eddard of House Stark; Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North due pledge my everlasting fealty to my nephew, Jaehaerys Targaryen, Third of His Name. King of the Andals, and the Rhoynar, and of the First Men. Lord of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and Protector of the Realm. I pledge both myself and House Stark to him and his heirs in perpetuity. We are of one blood; now and always." Ned intoned solemnly as he swore his fealty to his nephew.

When he resumed his seat, he was shocked to see a tear falling down Lyanns'a porcelain cheek. Ned gently wiped it off.

"I would never choose anyone else over mine own family, Lya," he said softly.

"Thank you, Ned. This means so much to me," she told him with a beautiful smile.

"Alright, now what are we going to do with all of you? Obviously Robert will need to think you dead. Luckily he already thinks the others dead save Viserys, and he thinks him in Essos. I'm sure you could stay hidden for a while in the Stepstones, but it's not really remote enough. You could be discovered. I can say you died of a fever of some sort in the Dornish heat. Have the Martells been informed about everything?" Ned asked.

"Yes, they have. We will have their full support and Prince Doran offered to hide us, but I think Dorne would be far too risky." Lyanna said.

"Yes, it would be too much of a risk. All it would take would be one Lannister spy, and their are sure to be some planted there if not now, then soon." Ned agreed.

"The She-Bears," Lyanna mumbled.

"Hmm?" Ned inquired.

"Lady Maege and her girls. I know Jorah is ruling now, and I don't really know him all that well, but Maege Mormont always adored me. They are also some of, if not the, most loyal of our bannermen. Bear Island could hide us well if they agreed. It is so isolated their would be little chance at discovery. The only travelers they ever have are other Northmen, and we could build a place a bit remote. Do you think they would help? What do you think of it?" Lyanna asked.

Ned mulled over Lyanna's suggestion of the Mormonts of Bear Island. It was certainly remote enough and the Mormonts were loyal to House Stark to a fault. They would never even contemplate betraying them. In a remote keep on the island the chances of anyone untoward discovering them were practically non-existent. He would also be able to visit whenever he liked as he was always friendly with the Mormonts and no one would think anything about it.

"Yes." Ned said.

"I like that idea quite a bit. I believe it would be the perfect place. They are certainly loyal and I have always gotten along with them. No one would think anything odd about me visiting Bear Island. It might take a bit of time, but I should be able to come up with enough gold to have a keep that was fit enough," Ned told Lyanna as he began thinking of all the logistics the situation would entail.

Lyanna's next statement surprised him further still.

"You needen't worry about coin Dear Brother. We have that in abundance," Lyanna said.

"How? You are all exiles," he stated.

"Did you not hear? Apparently, Robert Baratheon usurped a bankrupt throne. There was not a single golden dragon to be had of all Aerys' massive treasury. There's a reason for that of course. When we rescued Princess Elia and the children, we emptied every last bit of gold and valuables in the entirety of the Royal Treasury. Aerys had millions of dragons in gold that he had been hoarding and we took every last piece," Lyanna told him with a triumphant smirk.

Ned was utterly flabbergasted at that. Though after the real live dragons he really shouldn't be all that surprised at nearly anything now. He still remembered the rage of both Robert and Tywin Lannister when it was discovered the Royal Treasury was empty. He had thought he had seen Lord Varys give a little smirk at that, but he had dismissed it.

He had to admit, his sister was well and truly brilliant.

"Sister, you amaze me!" Ned exclaimed with a smile. He had learned long ago that it never pays to underestimate Lyanna Stark.

"Maybe I can send Benjen to you. He had written to me saying he wanted to take the Black. With you and your son in the North, hopefully he'll want to stay now." Ned told her.

"There is someone else for the both of you to meet as well. I already told you Brandon married Lady Ashara in secret when he found out she was pregnant. Ash had a little girl she named Elaena Stark. She's so beautiful Ned." Lyanna told him.

Ned's eyes had widened at that.

"Catelyn will not be happy about that," Ned mumbled with a look of exasperation.

Lyanna merely snorted.

"I don't doubt it." Lyanna said.

Ned heaved a sigh. He would soon be putting on the performances of a lifetime.

"Alright, I will return to the capitol and inform Robert of your 'death' from a fever at the Tower of Joy where I fought the remaining members of the Kingsguard. I assume they'll be going wherever you and the children are?" Ned asked.

"Yes, they will always stay with us," she replied.

"When I return home I will speak with Jorah and Lady Maege. If they are agreeable, and since money is apparently no issue, I'll have an appropriate keep built. We will need to arrange all of this before those monstrosities get too big. We'd never be able to cover up the sight of seven large dragons, so I will work as fast as possible. If the Mormonts are uncomfortable with this, then I'll arrange something remote on our own lands, but I think they will be pleased. This will also be a good place for the little ones to grow up around. You will find no better people than the Mormonts," Ned told her.

"In the meantime, you all just stay in the Stepstones and do not take any risks while you are still in the South and away from the protections of our armies," Ned stated.

"Thank you, Brother. This means so much to me. Bear Island is also remote enough that we shall be able to maintain our fleet with ease. While we're there, the Royal Fleet will act as naval protection for the North. The ships could also be used to open up trading with some of them used as cargo ships with a Northern fleet to protect them. I just want you to know that I intend to raise my son to be every inch as much a Stark as he is a Targaryen. I will see to it that the North is always honored and cared for," Lyanna pledged.

Ned smiled his kind smile at his baby sister.

"I would expect nothing less from you Little Wolf," he responded their old childhood nickname for Lyanna. His smile brightening as he gazed down at his now sleeping nephew and prayed to the Old gods they raised the boy to be both a wise king as well as a good man. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Waking the Dragon**

 **Chapter III**

 **Author's Note:** _Here's the next chapter. Chapter four should be up tomorrow. It will have the younger generation finally coming into their own and going out into the world._

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing 

* * *

Almost a year had passed since Lyanna had last spoke to her brother in person. The Seven Kingdoms were finally settling down from the Rebellion, though many in the realm were filled with discontent. With the marriage of Robert Baratheon to Cersei Lannister, the Kingdoms began falling under increasing amounts of Lannister influence. Because of the Crown's bankrupt state, not only had taxes been raised, but Lannister gold was being loaned in large amounts to pay for the new regime's extravagance. The results of that was a further extension of Lannister influence upon the realm.

While the might of the Lannisters was growing, so was the resentment the other Great Houses bore them. Many in the realm had been horrified by the actions of Tywin Lannister during the Sack of Kings Landing. The man was already regarded as little more than a butcher after the "Rains of Castamere". Now however, he was seen as more of a demon than a man. Yes, he was feared. That fear however was not worth the cost of the respect of the rest of the realm. His family, and by extension the 'Royal' family, was quickly becoming painted with the same brush. It did not help that Queen Cersei had become the most despised woman in the realm for her haughty and cruel demeanor.

In the Stepstones, things settled into a routine as the four ladies of the manor did their best to establish a sense of normalcy for their children's sakes. The children were doing very well, and Jon and Dany had already taken their first steps. The transition had been a bit difficult though for Rhaenys and especially Viserys. However with all of his family together, and their love and support, he was adjusting to the changes far better than expected. It helped that all of the children were being raised together as siblings; even the young Blackfyre child was being raised as part of the family. They planned to later legitimize him as Targaryen cousin and prince.

Discreet correspondence continuously flew between the Stepstones and Sunspear and Winterfell. Lyanna had been very pleased to learn that the Mormonts were more than happy to welcome them to their domain. Construction on the new keep that was being built not all that far from the Mormonts, was coming along nicely as well. While it would take at least another year before it was complete enough to live in, construction of the outer shell of the castle was already finished. Using the gold that Lyanna and Queen Rhaella had sent North, Ned had actually arranged for the construction to be overseen by an engineer from Volantis. The keep was being built in the traditional Valyrian manner that could be found in both the castle at Dragonstone as well as Maegor's Holdfast. Because of the location, no one from the mainland of the North, let alone the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, had learned of its existence. Lyanna already planned to gift it to the Mormonts after retaking the throne in gratitude for their help and loyalty.

Today, they were all eagerly awaiting a pair of visitors. Prince Oberyn and Benjen Stark were due to arrive today. Lyanna was especially exited as she had not seen her baby brother in several years now. Benjen had come to Sunspear susposedly on behalf of Ned to negotiate closer relations between Dorne and the North as the two kingdoms would later be the bases from which a Targaryen restoration would be launched from. The family had been packing their belongings and getting things ready to move for several weeks now. The main reason for the move North, even though the new castle was still incomplete, was because of the dragons. As they were now just over a year old, the dragons would soon no longer be able to be moved around easily if they were not taken to a permanent location to continue their growth. If they waited much longer they would undoubtedly be discovered. Prince Oberyn and Benjen Stark were coming to assist with the move and spend time with their respective sisters and their children.

Lyanna had walked down to the docks when Benjen's ship was sighted from the keep. She hoisted little Jon onto her hip and immediately set off. Lyanna's silver dragon, and Jon's black and red monstrosity that seemed to grow bigger by the day, of course set off with them; Ser Arthur as ever their Kingsguard shadow.

The sun was shining brightly on the Narrow Sea making the blue water sparkle as sea gulls and swifts darted about and dived to the water searching for their next meal. She saw Benjen get off the ship and walk down the gangplank to the dock. He spotted Lyanna immediately and dropped his belongings on the dock as he ran to the sister he never thought to see again in this life. Lyanna smiled brightly as Benjen ran up to her and enveloped her in his arms. Luckily she had just handed Jon off to Ser Arthur.

"Ben!" Lyanna squealed like the young girl from Winterfell she still was as her little brother twirled her around in his arms.

"By the gods have I missed you Lya!" Benjen mumbled into her dark curls.

She just squeezed him tighter as she felt her eyes begin to tear.

"I've missed you too Benji. I've missed you so much," she said softly.

While Lyanna had been close to all her brothers, it was Benjen she was closest to. Ned and Brandon were both sent off to foster in the Vale and Barrowtown respectively, while it had been Lyanna that had always been there for Benjen. Their mother Lyarra had died soon after Benjen was born. That left Lyanna in the position to try to be both mother and sister to her younger brother. There was virtually nothing one did not know about the other. They had become each other's closest confidants, and their was nothing in this world that Benjen would not do for his sister.

"Are you well Lya?" Benjen asked as he examined his sister.

Lyanna was reminded of Ned doing the same thing when he saw her for the first time again last year.

"Yes, Ben. I'm doing wonderful," she said.

"Now, come over here. I have someone I want you to meet." Lyanna told him as she dragged him over to Ser Arthur. She could see the others approaching the docks just now.

"Brother, this is Ser Arthur Dayne. I'm sure you remember him," she said by way of introduction.

Benjen looked up at Ser Arthur and the toddler he was holding. Benjen had all but worshipped Ser Arthur at the Tourney of Harrenhal. He was one of the most legendary knights in Westerosi history.

"It is good to see you again Lord Benjen," Ser Arthur told him.

Benjen had the biggest smile when the famed knight greeted him. He found himself smiling a lot more these days. Before Ned had returned from the South and with the truth regarding Lyanna that he did not dare to put in a raven, Benjen had felt he was at the lowest point in his life. He had failed and lost the one person who loved him the most. Since learning of Lyanna and her son's survival however, most of his melancholy thoughts were leaving him. He had never felt so alive.

"Ben, this is my son Jon." Lyanna said taking him back from Ser Arthur and walking back towards her brother.

Benjen was looking at his sister's little boy in something akin to awe. This little boy, who was a perfect blend of Lyanna and the Silver Prince, was destined to rule over the entirety of Westeros. He grinned down at the little boy as Jon clapped his little hands in happiness and reached for Benjen. He got a terrified look, as if he would break him at the merest touch. Lyanna was obviously not having any of that as she just handed him right over to her brother.

Benjen took Jon in his arms and watched amazed as he just settled in happily; just observing everything and everyone around him.

"Hello, Little Jon. I'm your Uncle Ben. You'll be seeing alot more of me," he told the little king.

"We will?" Lyanna asked him hopefully. She had been yearning for the comfort of her family almost since the day she left Winterfell for the last time.

"After all these years, did you think you could get shot of me that easy?"

"I knew I couldn't be that lucky," she said with a laugh.

"Did you finally get tired of the Septa?" Lyanna inquired with an impish look.

Benjen burst out laughing.

"By the gods have I missed you Lya," he told her with a smile.

"Would you believe we actually have both a septon and a septa in Winterfell now?" Benjen asked her.

"What? She actually managed to turn Ned away from the Old gods?" Lyanna asked; horrified and unable to believe that could ever happen.

"No. That is one thing Catelyn Tully will never manage. No, Ned built a sept for her and the children; she's expecting again by the way. She insists they recieve an education in both faiths since Ned is not about to turn away from our gods. If they have girls, they'll be tortured with sewing and propriety lessons just like every other Southron flower," he bemoaned; already feeling sorry for the unborn little she-wolves.

Lyanna shook her head bemusedly at that. She swore she'd never understand that woman.

"I already feel sorry for my future nieces," she said echoing Benjen's own thoughts.

By this time, Prince Oberyn had reunited with his sister and niece, and they had made their way to them along with the Lady Ashara.

Benjen had been ridiculously tongue-tied around Ashara. The young Northerner's nervousness caused a wicked smirk to grace the Dornish beauty's face. Her repeated attentions to the young lord resulted in a constantly red-faced Benjen while Elia, Lyanna, and Oberyn all had matching smirks; all their eyes alight with amusement.

Dinner that evening was a joyous affair as both Elia and Lyanna reconnected with their siblings. The Queen recieved Benjen warmly, as this was the first time the two had met. Current events of the realm were discussed, and both Benjen and Prince Oberyn told them all they knew and heard of the goings on in the Usurper's court. Benjen discussed the move, and told them Ned thought the dates of the move North should be moved up. He wanted to minimize the risk as much as possible.

After he had declared his fealty, Ned Stark became the Targaryen's best asset for knowledge and any possible plans that concerned the court at Kings Landing, (with the possible exception of Lord Varys). Between his status as Warden of the North, and his supposed brotherhood with Robert Baratheon, Ned managed to begin to quietly exert a tremendous amount of influence all throughout the Seven Kingdoms. It also did not hurt that his foster-father was the Hand of the King and Warden of the East, Jon Arryn; while his good father was the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands. Ned would involve Jon Arryn as little as possible, but he had absolutely no qualms of using Hoster Tully by any means necessary. No one had any idea just how many allies and contacts he had begun amassing for the eventual ascension of his nephew to the Iron Throne.

It was decided that they would leave the Stepstones in two weeks. They truly did need to depart while all of the dragons could still be safely hidden away out of sight. Benjen would be moving with them and making his home on Bear Island. He was determined to be there for his sister and nephew as well as the Lady Ashara and his niece. Prince Oberyn was coming along as well. As far as the rest of the Seven Kingdoms were aware, the Prince was in exile in Essos. While Oberyn never stayed in one place for too long, he was determined to do all he could for Elia and Rhaenys. He had found himself somewhat surprised when he found that he actually wanted to protect and do all he could for Rhaenys' brother and the boy's mother Lyanna as well. The obvious love and affection the siblings felt for each other, as well as Lyanna's undeniable love for Elia and Rhaenys especially, had made Oberyn Martell one of young King Jaehaerys's staunchest supporters. It would most assuredly make for an interesting and diverse family dynamic in one of the most remote regions of the untamed North.

The time soon came when Prince Daeron Targaryen and his companion Ser Jeremy watched from the docks as the last of his family sailed to their new home. He prayed to any deity that would listen that they made it there safely and without incident. All that was left to do now was wait. The children would have the time they needed to grow unimpeded by having to hide or being stalked by assassins. The dragons would also be able to spread their wings and fly freely. In not too many years, they would begin to learn to mount their dragons and form the bonds that would see the best part of his family in many years retake what was theirs by rights. Daeron knew that with the guidance and training his niece Rhaella would impart to her grandson, the boy would one day be able and willing to overcome any challenge life could bring. A small smile graced his lips as his hopes for the future travelled North. The kinslaying, child-killing, whoremonger of an Usurper's days were numbered; he just did not know it yet. In the times to come however, he would become intimately familiar of just why their family motto was 'Fire and Blood'. The Old Lion too would be reminded that the blood of the dragon were not Reynes or Tarbecks. Lannisters were not the only ones who paid their debts, and they were owed a very large debt of blood. The smile never left Daeron's face as he and his partner returned to the keep; his steadily growing young dragon still perched on his shoulder.

* * *

It had been five years since they had moved to the North and Bear Island. Three years had passed since the castle had been more or less completed. It was a truly beautiful home that was utterly unique. For the first time, the architectural traditions of Old Valyria joined the native Northern elements of the First Men. The outer walls of the castle were near on twenty feet wide and circled the whole complex. While castles such as Winterfell had numerous outer walls and defenses, theirs possessed only the single tall and thick barrier that was manned with guards at all times.

Truly, the castles best defense was something far better than anything man could build. The six large and still growing dragons that made the castle their home could easily defeat many thousands of men by themselves. Even though the children were still very young, they each had an instinctual bond with the beasts. Over time, it had been discovered that the children, as well as the adults, were all capable of warging. All of them had had strange dreams at one time or another that were like seeing through a different set of eyes.

Remembering the tales of Old Nan, Lyanna and Benjen were the ones to figure out what it meant. The southroners had been unnerved at the beginning, but time and experience soon lessened their fear. Nearly every day they practiced with their abilities and continued to improve. The efforts soon paid off. The children especially, were discovered as having the most natural ability of them all, and the easiest time slipping into their dragon's skin. It mad sense as both the children and the dragons were literally growing up together. Over all, all the practice improved both their relationship as well as the bond each of them shared with their dragons.

All of the dragons finally had names as well. Jon had named his black and red monstrosity that was by far the largest of them all, Torraxes. The young king thought it rather ironic to name him after the last King in the North who knelt before the might of the dragons. It was also in honor of his Stark heritage.

Rhaenys named her red and orange dragon after the founder of her mother's house, and the famed warrior queen she idolized in the histories, Nymeria. Considering the she-dragon's colors were those of House Nymeros-Martell, the name was entirely appropriate. Out of all of the children, Rhaenys was probably the one who practiced working with her dragon the most.

Daenerys's purple dragon was named Valyria. She named her she-dragon when she was just three name days. They had just begun some very basic studying and her mother Queen Rhaella was telling the younger children all about Old Valyria and how the Valyrians of old were known for their silver hair and violet eyes. Dany's dragon was a unique shade of violet, but the dragon also had small flecks of silver on her scales that sometimes gave the appearance of shimmering. Since the colors matched, she said she would be naming her dragon Valyria.

They had allowed all the children to name their own dragons. The younger ones that had been unable to really give a dragon a fitting name waited until they were old enough to think up an appropriate name. Except for Dany of course. At three name days she would not be dissuaded. Jon's dragon for example was simply called 'the Beast' until he was of an age to name him. Considering its' size, it was a fitting nickname that seemed to persist even after the dragon was finally named.

The Queen's green dragon was named Rhaegel. She named him for her lost elder son that she still missed dearly. It was rather amusing to observe the Queen and her dragon. He was the most obedient of them all, and he followed the Queen around like a puppy. Rhaella's undeniable affection for the dragon was obvious as she treated the beast like one of her own. The Dowager Queen was probably the one person who had changed the most since they moved to Bear Island. Gone was the battered and subdued sister-wife of the Mad Aerys. In her place was a still youthful and vibrantly regal woman that had been reborn with a new lease on life. She radiated a charm and charisma that was unequalled. Without the heavy hand of Aerys in her life, she was helping in great part to raise the next generation of House Targaryen to heights that had not been seen in centuries. From nearly the moment of Aery's death, a true she-dragon was born.

Viserys, likewise named his blue dragon Aeraxes; after the father he once had before the madness overtook him. Viserys was surprisingly gentle with his dragon. In all, raising Viserys with the others and giving him the task and responsibilities of an eldest sibling, brought the prince towards a new path in his life. It was a direction far removed from the one he had been heading towards under the influence of Aerys. With the firm but loving hand of his mother and his good-sisters, he became a truly good elder brother to both Jon and Dany especially.

A raven had arrived in the night that gave everyone cause for celebration. Balon Greyjoy had been defeated. Earlier in the year, they had received word from Lord Stark that Balon Greyjoy had declared himself King of the Iron Islands and had once again taken up the driftwood crown. Apparently, he thought the Usurper's hold on the Iron Throne was too tenuous for him to be able to successfully put down the revolt; that he would not be able to command the obedience of the other Lords Paramount to rally to his cause. He was wrong.

They had discussed at first the possibility of using the rebellion as a means to re-take the Iron Throne from the Usurper who would be otherwise occupied. They had seriously considered it as the dragons by that point were certainly large enough to deal great amounts of damage. By then, Rhaella, Lyanna, and Daeron were all three able to ride their dragons. The downside however, would have been trying to raise the kingdoms to rally for a six year old. The Silver Prince's son or not, no one would want to go through the long regency that would be required; it had never ended well in the past.

No, they had decided to remain on Bear Island. Jorah and Maege Mormont had gone with their troops to Winterfell when Ned called the banners. Ned himself was not comfortable fighting on Robert's side any longer, however he must needs keep up appearances. Also, Ned agreed that the time was not right for them to come out of hiding. On the other hand, Ned was almost looking forward to fighting the Krakens.

Eddard Stark considered them a blight on the face and honor of the Seven Kingdoms. Their values of thieving, raping, and pillaging were anathema to a man like the Lord Stark. They had been a thorn on the North's side for centuries. Balon Greyjoy found himself utterly shocked when none of the ships he sent to raid the western coast of the North ever returned. He was not the only one though. Westeros as a whole was surprised to learn that the North was now in possession of its own fleet. Besides the small fleet of Wyman Manderly at White Harbor, no one had known that the Starks had been building a fleet. Of course they were not to know that it was merely a loan. In truth, almost all of the ships that made up the vast majority of the Northern Fleet all belonged to his young nephew King Jaehaerys.

Before word of the rebellion had even spread, Targaryen ships mostly manned with men from Bear Island, had spotted the Greyjoy's Iron Fleet beginning to move. They relayed the information back to Bear Island, which was forwarded immediately to Winterfell. It was agreed that they were to be destroyed at the first sign of aggression. They did not have to wait long.

Ships bearing the kraken sigil of House Greyjoy attempted to land near Deepwood Motte and Moat Cailin. Because they were expecting them, they all walked to their deaths. None ever returned to the Iron Isles alive.

They had also known ahead of time about the planned attack on Lannisport, but no one felt inclined to warn the Lannisters. Anything that weakened the lions was good news for the exiles.

As Stannis Baratheon was no longer amongst the living, it fell to Ned Stark to organize the various fleets of the realm in repelling the Greyjoys. What had been going through Balon's head to convince him to begin a truly hopeless war, was anyone's guess. In the end, all of his adult sons were killed and his brother was held captive.

Jorah Mormont had earned himself many an accolade during the war. He fought bravely and honorably at the side of both Ned and Benjen Stark. His bravery was rewarded at the Siege of Pyke when he was awarded a knighthood by Robert Baratheon.

An interesting development occurred at the Tourney of Lannisport held by the Usurper to celebrate the victorious ending of the ignoble Greyjoy Rebellion that would have consequences of great import to the exiles on Bear Island in the future. The newly minted Ser Jorah Mormont met a woman of the Reach of near unparalleled beauty. Her name was Lady Lynesse Hightower. She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman with light golden blonde hair, creamy milky-white skin, and beautiful eyes of a sky blue. When Ser Jorah met her he was entranced. Surprisingly, she was rather taken by him as well. After the death of his wife from her third miscarriage, he had become especially smitten with the Queen Dowager. However, she had gently dissuaded him of such notions as she had no intentions of ever being bound to any man again after suffering through Aerys all those years. Perhaps it was mere happenstance, but Lynesse Hightower looked remarkably similar to the Targaryen Queen.

Jorah asked for and recieved her favor for the tournament. Throughout the tourney, Ser Jorah fought fiercely, and unexpectedly defeated many knights of the realm of far more re-known. In the end, Ser Jorah won the tourney and crowned Lynesse Queen of Love and Beauty. For the lady of the Reach, it was like something straight out of the songs. After his winning of the tourney, Ser Jorah asked for permission from Lord Leyton Hightower to wed his youngest daughter. He was overjoyed when Lord Leyton agreed with his proposal. Ser Jorah and Lady Lynesse were wed soon afterwards right there in Lannisport.

Lord Stark soon pointed out to Jorah one point of difficulty that in his mad rush of lust and love for the beautiful Lynesse he had fogotten. He would have to tell her about just who else lived amongst them on Bear Island.

Had it been nearly any other woman, Lord Stark would have most likely prevented the match from taking place at all, as he would not have risked the safety of his family. However, Lady Lynesse was the daughter of Leyton Hightower, and therefore the grand-niece of Ser Gerold Hightower- the Lord Commander of young King Jaehaerys's Kingsguard. She was also the sister of Alerie Hightower, the wife of Mace Tyrell. Nearly all of the young woman's family either had been, or currently were Targaryen loyalists. In time, this union would prove to be a perfect means of communication with the loyalist factions in the Reach; as well as a way to begin talks with the Tyrell's. Also, Ser Jorah's tales to young Jon of how he wooed and won the affections of Lady Lynesse would provide him with powerful inspiration in the future.

When all the war and the accompanying revelry of the victory celebrations was complete, Lady Maege, Ser Jorah and his new wife, as well as Benjen and Lord Stark returned to Bear Island. Ned had mainly come along to judge new Lady of Bear Island's reaction to seeing exactly who else she was going to be living amongst.

In truth, Lady Lynesse's reaction was almost comical. She very nearly fainted at the sight of both the exiled royals as well as the dragons. She remembered her grand-uncle from when she was a little girl and was actually very excited to see him again. Once she digested exactly who the exiles were, she was practically radiant. Her family held their oaths to the Crown as sacred and privately detested the Usurper and his Lannister Whore as they referred to the Baratheon King and Queen. She found the true tale of what went on between Rhaegar, Lyanna, and Elia to be rather heart wrenching.

Ned's worries were un-needed as Lady Lynesse seemed to flourish in the company she would be keeping on Bear Island. She definitely brought a breath of the fresh warm air from the south to the island. While under normal circumstances, the marriage of Ser Jorah and Lady Lynesse may have been an utter disaster, with the exiles in residence, she was in a position of intrigue and power. Instead of her only company being what she would consider Northern barbarians, her days were filled with notables consisting of no less than two princes, four princesses, a famed Dornish noblewoman, the brother of the Warden of the North, the Knights of the Kingsguard, a dowager queen, and an actual king! Also, anyone would be remiss to forget about the fire-breathing, no longer extinct, and very large dragons.

Her stay on Bear Island improved even more when young Jon, now approaching his seventh name day; not only confirmed Jorah's knighthood, but had Ser Gerold do-over the ceremony so as to make the knighthood 'real'. Also, in thanks for the loyalty and hard-work of the Mormonts on behalf of Houses Stark and Targaryen, Jon gifted House Mormont with Winterfyre. Winterfyre of course being the name the Targaryens had given to their new castle. When word had come to them about Ser Jorah's marriage to a Hightower, the ladies had begun to work on a new suite of lord's rooms in the castle especially designed for a southron lady living in the North. When Jon had taken back his family's throne, House Mormont would receive the castle as their thanks. This also allowed the Lady Maege Mormont and all of her daughters to have free reign of the Mormont ancestral home that was far more to their liking than a Valyrian style castle would ever be.

Before departing, Queen Rhaella asked for a private meeting with Lord Stark. Though the two had long been in correspondence, and Ned visited at least once a year, this was the first time she had ever requested a private interview with the Lord of Winterfell. Once the pair were ensconced in the Queen Dowager's solar, she made a rather surprising request to Ned. At first, Ned had been inclined to dismiss her idea out of hand. He thought it far too dangerous, and that he wasn't old enough to understand why the boy would have to keep silent about certain things. However, the more she discussed and the more arguments she came up with in support of her proposal, the more his resolve began to crack. In the end, Queen Rhaella got her way, as she did quite often these days. Robb Stark, heir of Winterfell and the North, would be coming to Bear Island as a ward.

This was something that had been on the Queen's mind for some time now. The children were growing up quickly, but they were isolated. They mostly only had each other as proper companions, though Prince Viserys had actually become rather good friends with Dacey Mormont. One day the children would be grown. Young Jon had no other boys around his own age that he could really be friends with considering he was not overly close to the Blackfyre child. Both Rhaella and Lyanna recognized that a part of him was starved of male companionship of his own age. Who better than his own first cousin, Robb Stark. If they could develop a bond between them, it could later bring great benefits to the North as well as young Jon. He would need someone of status and power in the Seven Kingdoms who was unquestionably loyal to him; someone that would always have his back. Queen Rhaella actually won Ned over to the idea by reminding him of his own wardship as a boy growing up in the Vale, and how much more lonely he would have been were it not for Robert Baratheon of all people.

Supposedly, the argument poor Ned had to go through when he got home and informed his wife of their son's agreed upon wardship, was of epic proportions. After learning what they did years ago about Hoster Tully and Littlefinger, Lord Stark had agreed that it would be unwise to inform his wife of any of it. Plainly put, they did not trust Lady Catelyn or her family enough to risk the exiled Royal Family's lives. She had raged at Ned for days about sending her, at that time, only son off to the savages and amoral women of Bear Island. She never got along with Lady Maege, who would laugh uproariously at Lyanna's opinions of her good-sister.

Ned was partly relieved. He had the same problem with Robb that Lyanna had with Jon. Their was simply no one of appropriate enough rank that he got on with to develop any type of true and lasting friendship. The closest he had was with Daryn Hornwood, and they were not all that close. At one point, Roose Bolton had tried to send both Domeric as well as his bastard son Ramsay Snow to Winterfell as companions to Robb Stark. With Domeric, while he thought he was certainly less creepy than his father, they had absolutely nothing in common, and both boys were utterly bored. The less said about the Bastard of Bolton the better in Ned's (and virtually everyone else's) opinion. That boy made both Robb and Ned's skin crawl. This idea would hopefully solve both of their problems. Plus, Ned had taken on Theon Greyjoy as a ward. Truthfully he was a hostage for Balon's good behavior. Ned almost instinctively disliked the arrogant boy, and was loathe to have his son and heir influenced by the squid in any way.

Considering the fact that it was known that Benjen also lived on Bear Island, and the rest of Westeros believed it was the younger Stark brother that was in charge of their new fleet, sending his heir to learn about their growing navy was hardly anything one could find fault in. So it was that an excited young Robb Stark waved goodbye to his livid and furious mother as he set off with his father north to Bear Island and the family he didn't know he had.

* * *

After the short sea voyage from the mainland to Bear Island courtesy of the Targaryen Royal Fleet, young Robb Stark's eyes got bigger by the second as they passed by the traditional keep of the Mormonts and approached a beautiful large and out of the way castle. The boy was awed at the unique and obviously new Valyrian keep, however the sight of two massive dragons soaring through the air high above the castle was something else entirely. His mouth had dropped open and his eyes were comically wide as he watched the large black and red dragon begin to descend down towards them with what appeared to be a young boy about his own age actually riding on its back in a saddle of some sort. The second dragon was silver and Robb saw a woman on its back. She looked remarkably like his father and his Uncle Benjen. Now that he thought about it, the boy was obviously her son as he too resembled the Starks partly even with the silver blonde streaking through his shoulder length black hair.

The two dragon riders hopped expertly off their dragon's backs, the woman with what looked like much more experience, and the two scaled beasts leapt back into the air and began to playfully chase one another. The woman and the boy then began to make their way towards Robb and his father, both with large smiles on their faces.

Robb could only watch as he was further shocked when the boy sprinted forward and threw his arms around his father hugging him as he called out, "Uncle Ned," to Lord Stark. His Father too was smiling as he hugged the boy back as he set him on the ground and ruffled his hair affectionately; something Robb had only ever seen his father do to him. Then the woman came forward and took the boy's place confusing Robb further by calling him, "Brother". His shock was understandable as the only sister his father ever had was Lyanna Stark, and she was supposed to be dead.

However Robb thought it must be her as he heard his father call her Lya.

The boy then bound over to Robb, obviously very happy and excited to meet him.

"Hi," the boy said.

"I'm Jon. The son of Lyanna Stark. You must be Robb. We're cousins! Did you know? I'm really excited to meet you! I don't have any other boys my own age around to play with, but Mother said my cousin's coming so now we can be friends." Jon told Robb exitedly.

Robb took a moment to digest all of this. This boy was obviously his cousin, and he seemed nice and excited to meet him. Robb hadn't had many other boys his own age to play with either. Daryn was nice and all, but they didn't really have much in common. Domeric was okay he supposed, but truthfully he was dead boring; always playing his harp and not saying very much. Domeric's half-brother was some sort of evil entity from the Seven Hell's, Robb was convinced. Then there had been Theon recently, but he was really arrogant and all he wanted to talk about was finding salt-wives; whatever those were. This boy though, this boy was his family. He seemed nice, and he said that he had really been looking forward to meeting him. He knew from his mother's house words that family was more important than anything. Plus, this boy had his own dragon! How awesome was that?

Yes, he decided, he could definitely be friends with his cousin.

Robb grinned back at an expectant Jon as they shook hands.

"I'm Robb. It's great to meet you too! Can I see the dragons again?" Robb asked hopefully.

"Sure," Jon said with a smile.

"One of them may even let you ride em." Jon said.

With Ned and Lyanna looking on at their son's excited and smiling faces, they knew in that instant that they had definitely made the right decision in bringing the two boys together. It was the start of an unbreakable bond of brotherly love and friendship that would one day help to maintain and enforce peace to the Seven Kingdoms for decades to come.

 _Jon's POV_

He had just recently celebrated his ten and fourth name day. To most people, Jon would be considered almost a man grown. He was fairly tall for his age at just a few inches shy of six feet. He had shoulder length black and silver hair that tended to curl. He mostly kept it tied back, especially when training, though whenever he was on dragon back he left it unbound. There was just something amazing about the wind blowing through your hair as you soared through the skies on the back of the most powerful creature in the world.

Jon's bond with Torraxes had grown and developed over the years as they both grew up. His dragon was like an extension of himself. They both knew and could tell instinctually by now where the other was at all times. He could also sense Torraxes's feelings; he was certain his dragon could sense the same with him. When running battle simulations with Torraxes, he no longer even needed to steer or use High Valyrian to speak. It was all unnecessary as the dragon could sense whatever Jon wanted or needed him to do through their link. He had read ancient stories in dragonlore about such things, but they never described the effects of a bond as being as strong and instinctual as the one they shared. Jon was positive it was because of his Stark blood, as no other dragon rider before him and his mother had ice in their veins.

Jon was currently looking out his window towards the sea. Over the water and land far off is where he felt he was truly needed at the moment. It was nearly time to give the Usurper that murdered his father what the whoremonger long had coming to him. While Jon hated Tywin Lannister with all the intensity of dragonfire, his rage at the Usurper was even stronger. Jon had grown up with only knowing his father through stories from his Mother, Elia, and Grandmother. He had heard accounts of his father from other sources as well, but he would never be able to know the man he truly was. Jon had grown up with a hole in his life because of one man's jealousy. To Jon, that was utterly detestable. Robert Baratheon took everything from his family. He would see to it that the man learned exactly how that felt.

Stirring himself from his melancholy thoughts, Jon cleared his mind when his cousin Robb walked in with several papers in his hand. He had arrived back to the Island three days ago. Robb had been especially excited about something, but he wouldn't share what it was until he discussed it with his grandmother as he said he didn't wish to get Jon's hopes up if it wasn't possible.

"Alright, you've kept me waiting about whatever it is that has you so excited long enough. What the devil is it Robb?" Jon asked his cousin; his curiosity brimming.

"We've been invited to a tourney in the South!" Robb told him excitedly.

"We?" Jon asked, not knowing how it was possible for him to have been knowingly invited to anything as virtually no one knew who he was.

"Yes, 'we' Cuz." Robb told him.

"How is that even possible? Who is hosting the tourney anyway?" Jon asked.

"Ah, that would be Lord Mace Tyrell. He is hosting it the tourney on the occasion of his only daughter's coming of age," Robb said.

"Alright, I can imagine the Tyrell's doing something as extravagant as that. Regardless, how was I invited?" Jon inquired.

"Well, apparently my father is far more cunning than I ever gave him credit for," he said.

"How do you figure that?" Jon asked.

"Well, all these years he has been arranging for you to be able to have a public persona with the Usurper still in power. His reasoning was that he knew you couldn't stay isolated on the Island forever, and that for you to rule, you needed to begin making contacts and allies based on more than just your blood." Robb explained.

Jon began to feel a great up swell of hope blossom inside himself. He had long yearned to see the world or at least the rest of the realm beyond Bear Island and the North. He also felt a great amount of affection for his beloved uncle for thinking about such things. He would never be able to pay the man back for all of the good he had done for him and his family. Jon would make certain however that he tried till the end of his days to pay back that debt.

"Well, who exactly am I supposed to be?" Jon inquired; hoping he wouldn't be given a bastard's surname as the stigma that accompanied it was truly horrendous. He would take what he could get though.

"Why a Stark of course! You're my cousin!" Robb exclaimed with a grin.

That...sounded awfully close to the truth. How was that to work?

"Who?" Jon questioned confusedly

"You are my cousin; Lord Jon Stark of Moat Cailin! You are the son of Brandon Stark and Ashara Dayne; the twin brother of the Lady Elaena. Since Brandon broke his betrothal and married the Lady Ashara in secret, he allowed my father to be heir of Winterfell. However, you still come directly after me in the line of succession to the North; before Bran and Rickon and the girls. Father apparently told Baratheon all about the arrangement when he brought back Aunt Lyanna's 'bones' from Dorne. It is supposedly the reason he allowed Ser Arthur to live during the 'fight' at the Tower of Joy. He was sent with his sister to help raise you and your 'sister' on Bear Island. They just didn't let the news spread too much. So you see, both you and 'Elaena' and Ser Arthur can come to the tourney at Highgarden! We just need to be rid of that bit of silver in your hair. Everything else about your appearance is just down to your 'Dayne' heritage. It's perfect!" Robb finished as he explained the rather excellently crafted back story so Jon could actually travel and meet people.

Jon thought for a moment, going over all of the various scenarios in his head. Really, this story was rather flawless. It explained nearly everything about Jon. Perhaps Ser Jorah and Lady Lynesse could come. Also, he had been given Moat Cailin by his Uncle, and his mother and grandmother had been arranging its restoration for several years now. If anyone tried to make an incursion into the North, they would now be faced with an impregnable and massive fortress completely restored blocking their way. It was their intention to bequeath it to Elaena.

Slowly, a grin that matched Robb's was gracing the young king's face.

"This is perfect!" Jon exclaimed.

"I can finally see the realm! And a tourney in the Reach...the heart of chivalry! We can show those southron flowers just what we've learned from the sword arms of the likes of the Sword of the Morning! I wonder if Margaery Tyrell is as beautiful as they say she is?" Jon trailed off as a somewhat dreamy look graced his face.

Robb was chuckling at his best friend's look. He knew Jon was looking forward to seeing the girls of the South. He was as well. Though a part of his heart would always be on Bear Island...as long as _she_ was there. He needed to get over that though. She was far too good for him. She was royalty after all. Only Jon knew about that though. At least his cousin would finally be able to meet prospective ladies that were not closely related to him. He knew many expected Jon to marry Rhaenys or Dany, but Jon was of a different mindset.

This was the start of a new beginning for the both of them. He could just feel it in his bones. If only they could take some of the dragons with them. Even with all of his Father and Queen Rhaella's caution, Robb was still a little bit worried about something happening that would expose Jon. Well, they would have to get through him first. He would allow no one to hurt his brother in all but blood. Robb still thanked the Old gods for sending him to ward on the Isle. Instead of being stuck with the likes of that arrogant whoremonger squid Theon, or a Bolton, Robb had been given the best brother anyone could ever hope for. He was sure that in time, Jon would go down in history as one of the greatest kings the world had ever known. And Robb would be right there at his side. Jon would have his sword and his friendship always; they were brothers to the end. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Waking the Dragon**

 **Chapter IV**

 **Author's Note-** _Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Here's another chapter up._

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing 

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_'Elaena's' POV_

Elaena had never felt so much anticipation in her young life. She had been so very excited when Queen Rhaella told her she would be accompanying her 'cousin' and Robb on their journey to the Tourney at Highgarden. She was finally being allowed out into the wider world. For almost as long as she could remember, she had only experienced Bear Island. Now, she was going to participate in the full panoply of the southron noble life. Despite being half the blood of Old Valyria, the further south they travelled, the more joyous her countenance became as her Dornish blood began to sing in her veins.

She knew the presence of her and her 'twin', would raise quite a few eyebrows. Jon had basically been added to Elaena's own history as far as the rest of Westeros was concerned. However, the existence of Elaena Stark was virtually unknown. The unknown legitimate children of the Wild Wolf, Brandon Stark, and the scandalous Lady Ashara Dayne. She was sure the Tully's would just 'love' learning about them. She still found it amusing that she and Jon were posing as siblings. While there were some strong differences in their appearance, if someone cared to look, they would also notice a great many similarities. As she looked perhaps a bit younger than her actual age, she hoped no one would notice the disparity. Even with his hair dyed all black covering up the silver blonde, she thought Jon would stand out in any crowd. Her 'cousin' had an undeniable presence about him that immediately set him apart. While it may not be readily apparent with his hair all black, he bore a striking resemblance to his father; especially his facial structure. The late Prince of Dragonstone was said to be by far the best looking man in the whole of Westeros, and she had once heard the Dowager Queen say that Jon was even better looking than Rhaegar. She was sure the southron girls would be all over him.

At least Uncle Arthur had been sent with them. She knew she was not exactly bad looking, but she never thought men would desire her as much as they apparently did. Ever since they left the Neck and entered the South, men had been continuously gawking at her. People had always said she and her mother resembled each other quite a bit, as well as her father, but she never truthfully believed that she was anywhere approaching their beauty. She also did not fail to notice that Uncle Arthur, Jon, and even Robb looked like they would quite happily gut any of the men if they even looked at her the wrong way.

They had been travelling for over a month now; taking in all of the more famous sights along the way. For the two teenagers that had never been virtually anywhere, at least that they could consciously remember, it was a truly eye-opening experience. When they had entered the Reach, they had all been amazed by how green and bountiful the land appeared. There were fruits and flowers of all shapes, colors, and sizes that they had never seen before. The small-folk they encountered when they entered the Tyrell lands were also hale and hearty. It was a far cry removed from some of the blatant poverty they had seen, even in places which had surprised them, like the Riverlands.

When they got their first view of Highgarden from the distance, they had all been stunned by its beauty and regal appearance. Well, all of them except Uncle Arthur. He remained as stoic as ever. Of course he had been to all of these places many times before. She noticed that he would sometimes get a far away look in his eyes as if he were remembering a different time with the ghosts of the past.

The tiered-walls with all of the various groves, and gardens, and colonnades were magnificent. Even knowing that parts of the structure hailed from the Age of Heroes, one did not have the feeling they were approaching an ancient citadel. No, Highgarden appeared to be thriving and full of life. The massive amounts of greenery and gardens intertwined with the carefully designed stonework to produce a truly beautiful vista that was a delight to behold. The various flora and fauna blended so beautifully with the work of man that the castle itself seemed to be a living entity. The Gardeners of old had truly outdone themselves in designing a dynastic stronghold that was only outshone with the advent of the Targaryens and their seat at Kings Landing. Of course, the reason they were here in the first place was only because the pride of House Gardener ended on the Field of Fire which then allowed the Dragons to raise House Tyrell to everything they currently held.

There were fields of roses of all kinds as far as the eye could see. The Mander also wound its way through the area gently carrying what looked to be pleasure rides here and there. After they finally entered the inner courtyard they were met by the grooms of House Tyrell all wearing green livery and bearing the golden roses of the family they served. They were shown their rooms, which was actually rather surprising. There were so very many people attending the festivities that many of the lesser noble houses had needed to set up tents. They had brought the nicest tents they could have made in such a short amount of time, but it turned out to be unnecessary. As far as anyone here was aware, Robb was the highest ranking person in their entourage. As the heir of Winterfell and the North he was important certainly, but perhaps not currently more important than Ser Kevan Lannister. They had already seen the right hand of Lord Tywin himself in a tent. It was a nice tent, to be sure; but a tent all the same. It certainly made Elaena herself a bit more cautious if perhaps someone here might have any idea they have the true King of Westeros in their party. Of course when she mentioned her suspicions to the boys they just thought her paranoid, but Uncle Arthur agreed it was suspicious to him indeed.

After they had all bathed and cleaned up, they were on their way to be presented to their hosts. As they were officially representing the Lord Paramount and Warden of the North, this was done in a more private receiving room. They were ushered in and the herald announced their names and titles for the first time in the South.

"Presenting Lord Robb of House Stark. Son of Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Tully of Riverrun. Heir of Winterfell and the Wardenship of the North," the herald announced.

Robb then entered the room with all of the grace and charm expected of the heir of the North. He was dressed in fine leathers and his cloak was lined in fur.

"Presenting Lord Jon of House Stark. Son of Lord Brandon Stark and the Lady Ashara Dayne of Starfall; Lord of Moat Cailin," the herald cried next.

Jon walked in to the grand room with far more natural poise than Robb. He was dressed completely in fine black leather. The lone exception being the white fur that trimmed his cloak. His head was held high and his very presence commanded instant attention. The Tyrell's in the room looked rather shocked at his appearance, though they managed to hide it quickly enough. The Lady Olenna however, was scrutinizing every inch of Jon. Her stare was almost unnerving until Jon calmly met her eyes and bestowed upon her a benign smile. His attention was almost immediately drawn back to the beautiful Lady Margaery Tyrell. Elaena could have sworn the girl was blushing slightly while looking at Jon, which from what she had heard, was totally out of character for her.

She was next.

"Presenting the Lady Elaena of House Stark. Daughter of Lord Brandon Stark and the Lady Ashara Dayne of Starfall," said the herald.

Elaena was wearing a deep blue gown with the long southron sleeves trimmed in grey. Her hair was up in the southron style as well, just as her mother had taught her. She chose this gown as it made her violet eyes stand out and contrast with her fair skin and dark hair. She was both surprised and pleased to see Willas Tyrell widened his eyes as she approached. His slightly more handsome younger brother Ser Loras was still taking small glances at Jon. She supposed those rumors must have some truth to them then. Not that she cared. Being raised around Uncle Oberyn tended to desensitize one to virtually any type of scandal.

Finally it was Uncle Arthur's turn.

"Presenting Ser Arthur Dayne; the Sword of the Morning. Knight of King Aerys II's Kingsguard and brother to the Lord of Starfall," the herald said finishing the introductions more than a bit awkwardly.

Elaena could tell that not many knew exactly how to respond to her Uncle's presence. Especially as the Tyrell's had fought for King Aerys right to the end, and had been unsuccessfully trying to gain better relations with the Usurper for years now.

Apparently Lord Mace was unsure of just how to address such a strange group. Starks and known Targaryen loyalists meeting a noble family still trying to overcome the stigma of being former Targaryen loyalists themselves in the Usurper's court.

His mother however, had no such problems.

With a cutting glance at her oaf of a son, the Lady Olenna Redwyne Tyrell stepped forward.

"My lords and lady, welcome to Highgarden and the Reach. After spending your lives in that frozen land you call home it must be quite a bit different. Nevertheless, the hospitality of Highgarden and the Reach is at your disposal for the duration of your stay," said the old woman in her usual sharp way of saying whatever she felt like.

Elaena could tell that Robb had definitely taken offence at the cut to their homeland, but Jon interjected himself to deal with the woman...much to Robb's relief Elaena noted.

"I believe I speak for us all when I say thank you for hosting us, we are much obliged to see just what the South has to offer us. Though I must say, from what I have already seen of it, (and it was at that point that she saw Jon look at the Lady Margaery and surreptitiously wink at her of all things!) I am not ashamed to say I am utterly enchanted," Jon finished as he executed a perfect courtly bow and a rather beautiful smile graced his face which showed off his dimples when he smiled.

The true power of House Tyrell, the Lady Olenna actually seemed to take to Jon as she offered to show them around the castle the next morning; something that suprised them all.

They were then led to the feast which was being held that night. As the highest ranking arrivals on that particular day, they were seated at the high table with the Tyrells. Robb was placed next to Lord Willas and she was to the right of him. She looked a bit down the table to see Jon was conversing with the Queen of Thorns. She hoped he did nothing that would make her suspicious, though something told her the old lady somehow knew exactly who he was. She did not think anyone else did however.

"How was your journey, My Lady," Willas Tyrell asked her.

"Wonderful, My Lord. It was so very interesting seeing all of the different regions of the kingdoms. I was very small when we left Dorne, so the North is practically all I remembered. Seeing how very different each region is has certainly been an interesting experience," she told him truthfully.

He seemed somewhat surprised by that.

"Really? I would have thought most ladies would be incredibly bored cooped up in a wheelhouse for so very long," he said curiously.

"A wheelhouse? Oh, thank the Seven, no. I'm sure I would have gone mad trapped in one of those contraptions the entire way. No, while we brought one, I mostly rode the majority of the way." she explained.

"How very different! Do you like riding?" Willas asked, seemingly much more interested now.

"Yes, My Lord. I enjoy riding very much. There's nothing quite like the freedom one has racing across the land with the wind in your hair. It is so very freeing," Elaena explained.

"You enjoy racing then? I have to be careful because of my leg you see, but it is one of my favorite pastimes as well. Over the past few years I've begun to breed them, and I have several fine horses I'd be happy to show you tomorrow, if that is of any interest to you of course," Willas said, finishing the last part somewhat self-consciously.

Elaena gave him a gentle smile, truly touched that he would want to spend time with her.

"I would be delighted to Lord Willas. My cousins and I race often as well. However the best races I have ever had were with the Sand Snakes. I've never lost! Of course Uncle Oberyn says I cheat! I don't, he just can't beat me is all," she explained with a laugh thinking back to all of the many bets people had lost racing against her and her favorite horses.

She had no way of knowing it, but Willas was rather mesmerized by her laugh. Actually, he was mesmerized by just about everything about the "Northern" beauty.

"Did you mean Prince Oberyn of Dorne, when you mentioned an Uncle Oberyn?" Willas inquired.

She nodded an affirmative as her eyes went wide. She could not believe she forgot that it was during his joust with Oberyn that a young Willas's leg was permanently injured years ago when he was barely old enough to hold a lance.

"Oh, Lord Willas, I apologize for mentioning..." she was unable to finish as he cut her off with a rather charming smile.

"There is no need to apologize Lady Elaena. Though my Father may have never forgiven the Prince, I bear him no ill will whatsoever. Prince Oberyn is truthfully one of my dearest friends. After my injury, to which he is not to blame, he contacted me and tried to apologize. He is actually the one who got me back to riding. He taught me how to overcome the impediment, and I've never been more thankful. Oberyn Martell is one of the few people I can honestly say I count as a true friend." Willas explained to her.

She gave him a beaming smile at that explanation that he replied to with a grin.

"Out of curiosity, why do you refer to him as 'Uncle'?" Willas asked.

Elaena froze for a brief moment. Unsure how to answer. She could not believe she had allowed herself to be so very careless when she had been berating her brother already about doing the very same thing. However her quick wits did not desert her.

"Prince Oberyn grew up with my mother. She was also the dearest friend of his late sister, the Princess Elia. After the War of the Usurp...I mean Robert's Rebellion, they helped one another heal as best they could," she explained while again internally cursing herself for referring to the Baratheon King as an usurper in mixed company.

There was just something about Willas Tyrell that put her at her ease. She would really have to watch herself around him.

Willas nodded with a look of grave sympathy. His next statement surprised her.

"I understand, and have no fear. I was rather young when the Rebellion happened and I still have to guard mine own tongue where the 'King' is concerned. We were loyal to the Crown until the very end, and have been punished by the new regime ever since," he explained in a soft voice barely above a whisper; she had also seen him shoot a look of barely concealed disgust in the direction of Ser Kevan Lannister.

This intrigued her greatly. If the heir of Highgarden himself was still a loyalist to a cause most considered hopeless as the only known Targaryens left were an eccentric false Viserys in Essos and childless Grand-Uncle Daeron, she could not help but wonder what the family's reaction would be if they knew that nearly the entire dynasty survived still, was in possession of seven fully grown dragons, and were currently in the midst of the true king himself at that very moment?

When the music began to play, Willas was quick to explain that he could not dance for very long on account of his leg, but would be honored if she would grace him with a dance for a short time.

As she was held in his arms for not only one, but two songs, she looked about the room.

Lady Olenna was gazing in her and Willas's direction with a sharp eye that soon shifted. She followed the old lady's eyes to see them land on her brother dancing beautifully with Margaery Tyrell in his arms. The two of them moved together as smooth as silk, and there was a hunger there barely discernable in both of their eyes. She hoped her brother knew how dangerous falling for her could be. Then she looked back and in to her own partner's golden brown orbs. Who was she trying to fool? She too was enjoying every moment spent in the arms of someone just as dangerous for her. Both her brother and herself were dancing on the edge of a precipse. If someone were to find out...? Well, it was not in a dragon's nature to fear lesser creatures, and if ever their was a certainty in life, it was the simple fact that Rhaenys Targaryen was first and foremost a true dragon. As much as she enjoyed the anonymity and freedom of pretending to be Elaena Stark, she could never forget that she was the Dragon's daughter. 

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_Jon's POV- 2 Days Later_

Jon woke up that morning and couldn't help the grin that graced his face. He had enjoyed himself immensely last night. Actually, he had thoroughly enjoyed himself since the moment he arrived. He had found Highgarden to be simply magnificent. However, he found nothing more beautiful than the Rose of Highgarden herself. Of course Jon, like nearly every other person in Westeros, had heard tales of Margaery Tyrell's beauty. They did not lie, she was extraordinarily beautiful. However, what most accounts left out was her sharp mind and wit, her wonderful sense of humor, and what Jon was slowly discovering hidden behind many layers of years of training for intrigue and the Game; a truly good heart. He knew he was already falling for the mesmerizing girl he found to be one of the most intriguing creatures in the world. For a young man who almost daily rode the world's largest supposedly extinct dragon; that was saying alot.

He heard someone come in through the side door as he quickly reached for the Valyrian steel dagger he always slept with. He relaxed when he noticed it was only Robb and surprisingly Ser Arthur.

"And just what has you so bloody cheery on this most awful of mornings?" An obviously hung over Robb asked

"Why shouldn't I be cheery Brother? The sky is blue, the birds are chirping, the sun is warm, the air smells sweet...Ummph" he was suddenly cut off from his...colorful description when Robb launched a thick pillow at his head.

"What in the Seven Hells is with your disgustingly chipper mood?" Robb groused.

Ser Arthur looked highly amused at the both of them.

"I would wager it has something to do with a certain Tyrell Rose of the female persuasion," Ser Arthur said needling his young king with a grin that few outsiders ever saw. It made him look years younger and still had the ability to make fair maidens of all ages blush like young girls.

Robb decided to then join in on Ser Arthur's banter.

"He did seem quite engaged with her yesterday; very charming really. I suppose for her seventy years or so, the Lady Olenna is still quite fetching if that's what melts his butter. I never would have figured him to be one for a granny complex though. Of course they say the brothels of the capitol can accommodate the tastes of nearly anyone..." he trailed off when he noticed the devious grin that was presently gracing Jon's visage.

"While I admit, I do find the Queen of Thorns to be delightfully engaging; I find nothing wrong with admiring her beautiful grand-daughter," Jon said airily.

"Of course you both know well the lure of famed beauties...," he trailed off as the other two men began to feel like they had walked in to a trap.

"As for Robb, well...few can compare to a certain silver-haired violet-eyed princess; can they, Robb? Then of course there is my lady mother. Her charm and beauty is rather legendary...wouldn't you say Uncle?" Jon questioned with a leadingly impish grin as he saw both men turn a delightful shade of pink.

Mission accomplished, he returned to finish dressing before he approached the two and threw an arm around each of their shoulders in easy camaraderie. After all, Jon rarely lost a sparring match, verbal of otherwise.

"Now my lords, let us break our fasts and then put our names down for the lists. We'll see how we can hold up against these southron dandy's as we at least pretend to be fighting for the one's in our heart's; whomever they are." Jon declared.

"While I cannot join the lists, I do expect the both of you to best them all. Use what we've taught you and win a bit of glory. It is your time now, boys" Arthur said.

Both Jon and Robb nodded their heads in solemnly agreement with the legendary knight.

"Wait, the both of you; our japing almost made me forget. There are two new guests that arrived in the night that we should all be especially wary of. One is my former sworn brother, Ser Barristan Selmy. I do not know exactly what to make of him. He was injured at the Trident fighting for your father. I know he was given little choice about serving the Usurper, and by the time he was recovered enough he would have thought almost the entire dynasty extinct, but he would have known at least Viserys survived. Why did he not seek him out? If he had tried, he would have been able to find out all of you survived from the Martell's at the least. They would have sent him to us immediately. If he looks at you very closely at all, he will know you for whom you are My King. He also guarded your sister many times. I already believe the Lady Olenna at least, has recognized the both of you. For whatever reason, she appears to have no intention of enlightening the Usurper or the Lannisters. While Ser Barristan's honor is without question, you must be on your guard at all times. That leads me to the next problem." Ser Arthur explained.

"Who is it?" Robb asked; already very worried for Jon and Rhaenys' sake concerning Ser Barristan.

"The Hand has arrived, along with Robb's aunt and cousin. Luckily, Baelish appears to have been left in the capitol, or I would have been hard-pressed to stay my hand and slay the little worm of a man. Because of their presence, Lord Arryn is sure to be around both you and your sister. Jon Arryn is an extremely intelligent man. It is only due to him that Tywin Lannister does not rule all of Westeros. He has only seen you once when you were still a babe. However, he is of an age with the Lady Olenna, and has seen generations of your family with his own eyes. You and Rhaenys both must do all you can to keep your distance. I do not believe the Lord Hand would wish to see any harm come to you. I know he was disgusted by the Lannister atrocities as well as Robert's reaction and rewarding of them. While he personally may not wish to see any harm come to you, he very well may feel bound to inform the Usurper. If that occurred, we would have immediate war. We would win, there is no doubt of that; but only thru the use of the dragons. That would be the utter carnage we had hoped to avoid." Ser Arthur explained.

"Is there anything else you could suggest any of us should do? " Jon asked.

Though he may appear rather care-free and excited because he was finally seeing something of the wider world, as well as the feelings being invoked from his interactions with the enchanting Lady Margaery; in no way was Jon blind to or otherwise unawares of the dangers both he and Rhaenys could possibly be in. Neither of the other two men knew, but Jon was already cognizant of the new arrivals. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Jon had made plans for escape if need be. He would never allow his beloved sister or himself to fall into the Usurper's clutches. Within a few days, Torraxes should be hidden away in a remote location near to Highgarden. His dragon knew to be as invisible as a dragon his size could be and would only be flying during the night. If they needed to escape, Torraxes was large enough to carry several of them as well as deal with anything that would dare to cross them.

"Nothing that I'm certain you aren't already aware of," Ser Arthur told him with a shrewd loom; as if he knew his young sovereign already had things well in hand.

They took their meal in the great hall and set off to find the master-at-arms of Highgarden to put their names down for the jousting lists. Once completed, they went their separate ways for the plans they had for the day. Jon made his way to the reception room he had met the Tyrell's three days previous.

After waiting a couple of minutes, the Lady Olenna arrived with her grand-daughter Margaery in tow as a pleasant, yet unexpected surprise.

"Good afternoon my lady's. I hope the day finds you both well," Jon said after bowing in greeting.

"As well as can be expected with the amount of so-called 'guests' my son thought appropriate to invite," Lady Olenna said with a great put upon air.

"In that case, perhaps my humble self can distract you from some of the vermin that have infested your home, my lady." Jon told her with a smile.

"I'm sure you're just the distraction we need. Have you had a pleasant morning my lord?" Lady Margaery asked speaking up.

Jon's smile brightened immediately when she spoke to him.

"Indeed I have my lady. After the cold and scattered society of the North, I must say I have enjoyed myself immensely these past days. Of course none of it compares to when you grace me with your own presence," Jon complimented as a pretty pink blush graced her cheeks.

"Thank you my lord. I as well, enjoyed conversing and dancing with you," she told him.

At this point, Lady Olenna had noticed a group of what appeared to be Frey's approaching, and Jon noticed a look of absolute disgust cross the old lady's face before she smoothed out her features.

"Come my lady's, let us depart before the Late Lord Weasel's progeny are upon us," Jon said as he held out both arms for Tyrell women.

Having absolutely no desire to converse with what she referred to as 'the ever-growing plague of the Riverlands,' Lady Olenna quickly took his arm as Margaery took the other and Jon led them in the opposite direction.

Together, they showed Jon some of the more beautiful parts of Highgarden. Though he was having a difficult time tearing his eyes away from Lady Margaery, her grandmother took the time to pelt him with a great many questions. Her interest in things such as the North's naval power and the revitalization of Moat Cailin were understandable. However her questions relating not only to him personally, but his family as well, made Jon nervous. It was actually more than nervousness; Jon was becoming extremely suspicious. Despite his care free demeanor, he did not allow himself to falter a single time throughout what could only be described as the old lady's interrogation.

Eventually, Lady Olenna seemed to satisfy herself and whatever it was she was trying to find out as she abruptly decided to take her leave.

"Well my dear's, I believe they can hear these old bones creaking up and down the Mander by now. I shall take my leave and see you at the feast," Lady Olenna told them.

"Lord Jon, do an old lady a favor and ensure no errant Frey or Lannister abscond with my dear rose here would you," she asked of the young lord in a far more polite tone than her usual brusque manner.

"I would guard her with my life, my lady," Jon told the woman with a smile and actually meaning his words.

She actually patted him on the cheek as she departed.

"Yes, I do believe you would," she said quietly.

Jon and Margaery both watched as the old woman made her way back towards the central portion of the keep at a pace that certainly belied her age; both teens were silent as they thought over the rather bizarre questions and amount of time she spent with Jon. Jon himself was by now absolutely certain that she knew whom he was without a doubt. There was no other way for not only her interest in Jon to make sense, but also some of the rather veiled questions she put to him. He also did not fail to notice that she did not seem at all adverse to Jon spending more time with her beloved grand-daughter.

He had no way of knowing, but beside him, Margaery was brimming with curiosity in regards to her grandmother's totally unconventional behavior. She had never seen her grandmother interact with someone outside their family in such a way.

"My lord, please excuse..." Margaery began before Jon quickly interrupted her.

"Please my lady. It would please me greatly if you called me Jon," he told her with a sincere smile.

She gave him a large smile in return.

"As you wish Jon, but I insist you call me Margaery as well," she said.

"I'd be delighted, Margaery. Now, what shall we do? I see whom I believe to be Martyn Lannister approaching, and quite frankly I have no wish to darken my day with Lannisters. Shall you show me some of Highgarden's secret's?" Jon asked with an impish look as he extended his arm to her.

"Yes, let us avoid the Lannister cub. Follow me, Jon. I'll take you to one of my favorite places in Highgarden before we take a ride on the Mander with Willas and your dear sister," she said leading Jon away from a now disappointed looking young lion and towards a walled section of the gardens.

"Margaery, I am aware of course of your lady grandmother's reputation for her rather forthright manner. However our previous conversation seemed to me as more than passingly odd. Is she usually this interested young Northern lords, or perhaps it is your suitors she is taking more of an interest in?" he asked her.

He was still somewhat confused by their talk. It had taken all of his mental acumen to ensure he did not slip up throughout the entirety of their conversation.

She was silent for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.

"No, Jon. That was not normal for her in the least. She has never previously shown any interest in the North to my own limited knowledge. I can assure you, I am as confused by that as you are," she said slowly and precisely as if she too were really attempting to plot out her grandmother's motives.

"As for suitor's," she said as she undid a hidden latch in the wall and a secret door popped open in front of them.

"I truthfully have not had very many at all. As for yourself, I was not aware I could count you in the number of my suitors as you have thus far given me no inclination of any real interest," she said boldly as she walked past him and through the obscured doorway into the hidden garden.

Jon stood there rooted to the spot as she calmly stated that and disappeared through the door.

She was challenging him! If there was anything Jon was game for, it was a challenge. He darted through the slowly closing door immediately.

When he came through the hidden door, he stood there amazed at what he saw. They were now in the midst of a beautiful rose garden unequal to any other he had ever seen. Not only that, but there were small bubbling streams that even included waterfalls, creating a beautifully pleasing landscape. However, nothing in the enchanted garden could compare to the sight that met his eyes. Standing on a small hill with the sun streaming down upon her lending an almost unearthly golden glow stood the true vision. Margeary stood there sedately beside a small waterfall where benches were arranged looking for all the world like a goddess come to earth. Her tantalizing golden skin and hair sparkled in the sun. He swore he had never seen anything more beautiful in all his life.

Gathering his nerves, Jon walked straight to her and took her hands into his own.

"My dear Margaery, if my attentions have been in any way misleading, allow me to apologize. I understand that as only the second in line to the North, I could never be worthy of you. That notwithstanding, I assure you I have nothing but the most honorable of intentions. I hope my meager words will make my feelings clearer to you. Your beauty is unparalleled and without equal. That is something even a blind man could see. However, in the short time I have known you, it is your heart and mind which I have found even more enchanting. You speak your mind, and have your own thoughts and opinions which you aren't afraid of sharing. I admire that about you a great deal. You also possess wit beyond measure."

At this point he was staring deeply into her eyes, and had captured her complete attention. He may not have known it, but Jon had also captured her heart.

"Also no matter how hard you try and mask it with your rather excellent training and skill at intrigue, you have a truly good heart. Would that I might ever find a place in your heart; I would count myself the luckiest man alive. To be counted as your suitor is more than I could ever hope for, and this I swear to you: you could look throughout all the Seven Kingdoms, and you will never find anyone who would treasure you as much as I would. I would have you as my partner in all things; in this life and the next. I would endeavor to give you the world if you asked it of me," Jon finished; his violet eyes burning with both sincerety as well as an intensity that took her breath away as she looked over every inch of his chiselled features before returning to his eyes.

"You truly mean that, don't you," she said looking up into the most mesmerizing amethyst eyes.

"Of course. I've never understood those who look merely for a pretty face. I think that would make life far more boring, but then I was raised by rather remarkable women," he explained with a smile.

She was still looking into his eyes as she pulled him closer.

That was all the encouragement Jon needed to steel his resolve, and in an instant his lips had gently descended upon hers.

After a moment, he pulled back slightly with a questioning look in order to make sure he had not misread her or overstepped his boundaries. Apparently he had not, as this time it was Margaery herself who brought their lips back together as they deepened the kiss.

Time lost all meaning for the two as they stood their entwined together with the sun shining down on them. Daringly, he tentatively used his tongue, begging for an entrance, that was quickly granted. He slowly and gently memorized every part of her mouth, until they both had to break apart; desperate for air.

She looked up at Jon with a questioning look, seeing his face had become rather dazed.

Instantly coming back to himself, he looked into her eyes and grinned in a way that took her breath away.

"That was amazing!" He told her softly.

"I feel like I could do that all day," he said; still grinning.

She let out a bell-like laugh that warmed his soul.

"You act as if you've never done that. I'm quite sure every girl in the North must have been dying to get their hands on you," she said.

Jon could almost swear he detected a hint of jealousy in her tone as well when she spoke of hypothetical Northern girls.

Jon's eyes had gone wide at her comment.

While he might have absolutely no problem employing every ounce of charm and charisma he possessed, in many matters, he was still very much naive.

Growing up, the only girls he had ever been around that would have been around his own age and attractive were to him, not possible. Targaryens of old had no problem with it, and some may have even wished for him to continue the tradition, but Jon simply could not bring himself to look at his female relatives in a lustful manner. No matter how beautiful they were, he would not marry his own sister or his young aunt.

"I haven't," he confessed to her quietly.

Margaery looked at him for a moment as if he had grown a second head.

"On my honor, I swear to you; you are the first girl I have ever kissed." Jon swore to her; still speaking softly as he was somewhat embarrassed that he had reached his current age and was still so very innocent in such things.

When she saw that he was being entirely truthful, Margaery's eye's had gone wide before a wicked smirk graced her pink cupid's bow pink lips.

"Well then, I am honored. I should be very glad to teach you. I also have to confess I find myself inordinately pleased about that," she said as her smirk turned impish and teasing.

"Now, I think you have some more remedial studying to do. Wouldn't you say?" She asked with a rather coy smile.

Jon needed no further encouragement. 

* * *

_Jon Arryn's POV_

Jon Arryn, Hand of the King, Lord of the Mountain and the Vale, and Warden of the East looked out across the tiltyard as the tourney was now in full swing. It was a magnificent spectacle, he would give the Tyrell's that. That particular family was one which was constantly out in full pomp and splendor. However unlike the Lannisters, who were similarly ostentatious, their was a certain amount of beauty and graciousness to their actions which the Lannisters never managed. Most of it was down to the members of the family's themselves. With the exception the Lord Oaf of Highgarden, almost all members of House Tyrell were extremely charismatic. Also, their level of arrogance was nowhere near approaching that of the Lions of Casterly Rock. Although at first he had been highly reluctant to come to the tourney, he now found himself glad of the respite. His health had even seen a marked improvement. Unfortunately, he could never truly get his mind off of the current state of things in the realm.

In all of his very long life, he had never been more confused about how to proceed than he was at that moment. The knowledge he had recently gained concerning the King and his so-called children disturbed him greatly. He had known something was off about Prince Joffrey since he was very small, he supposed it now made more sense. All three children were bastards born of incest between Cersei and Jaime Lannister. At first, he had been all ready to bring the news to Robert and have the Golden Twins arrested. After thinking the matter through however, he found prudence to be necessary for the moment as their were simply far too many variables to consider.

Robert himself was one of the main problems. He had had such high hopes for the boy he had raised in to a man at the beginning of his reign. Instead of an Aegon the Conqueror however, he was far more of an Aegon the Unworthy. He cared not a wit for running the kingdoms, and only of enjoying the prerogatives his status brought him. He was spending the nation into utter ruin, and their was little Jon could do to stop him.

The realm had also never been more divided than it was at present. This could have been solved in any number of ways over the years. One such way would have been to agree to the betrothal of Joffrey and the Lady Margaery when the Tyrell's brought their suit to the King. Robert however would not hear of it though, saying he would never have Targaryen loyalists in his family. That cold rejection had done a great deal more damage than Robert could possibly comprehend. He supposed it was now a good thing or matters would have been even more complicated with the Lannister bastard now having the backing of the full might of the Reach. Also, at the very least an attempt could have been made to bring Dorne back into the fold by handing over Clegane and Lorch after the Sack, but again Robert would not hear of it. This had also led at least partly to the breach that existed between Ned and Robert. Not that Robert was likely even aware there was a breach to begin with. The Rebellion and its aftermath had changed both of his wards; in Jon Arryn's opinion only Ned had changed for the better.

Ned had been forced to take on huge responsibilities that he had never been trained or prepared for. He was proud of him for meeting the challenge head on and bringing his country to higher levels of prosperity than they had seen in centuries. Unlike fifteen years ago, if any were foolish enough to challenge the North now, they would be met with an extraordinarily strong military power. Their naval might alone was impressive, especially if one took in to consideration the fact that they did not even have a navy to speak of previously.

He was also not unaware of the influence House Stark now exerted. Through various means, the Riverlands had all but become an extension of the Stark's domain. Their was something about that, as well as other things he had discovered, that made him highly curious as to what exactly had changed Ned; what had lead to him becoming such an accomplished statesman. He knew it was not his wife, but was unsure who else could be advising him. One strong possibility would be the lad's grandmother. He was but a boy when his father brought him to the Great Council of 233, but he remembered well the masterfully done mummer's performance put on by the Princess Vaella Targaryen. She was no more simple than he was, yet she convinced the Council she was not only witless, but harmless as a lamb. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The Targaryen princess was the only one with the possible exception of the Daynes that Jon thought could have helped Ned achieve all he had.

Not for the first time, he dearly wished they had placed Ned on the throne instead of Robert. Robert was Aegon V's great-grandson though, and hence closer to the last rulers by blood. Now though, Robert had no real heirs. His children were all Lannister bastards. His only possible heir was his last remaining brother, and that came with its own set of troubles. With Renly as heir...well, Jon highly doubted if he would ever manage to produce a true heir. If the Lannisters were exposed now, without an incredibly strong alliance against them, as well as a clearly delineated line of succession; the realm would bleed like never before.

Tywin would do anything, kill anyone, to keep the power his family was amassing. Part of the reason he had not yet said anything was he thought Robert would soon find himself dead at the first whisper of the truth becoming known. While Robert was a terrible king, he was infinitely better than the alternative. If anything were to suddenly happen to Robert, they would be faced with Joffrey. The boy was mad, plain and simple.

One thing Jon was certain of was that he would do what he must to prevent any possibility of the Seven Kingdoms ever falling into the hands of an insane Lannister bastard child who was not only mad, but behind his golden facade, was also one of the most sadistic and cruel beings Jon had ever encountered. It simply could not be tolerated, no matter what.

He was brought out of his thoughts as he watched the joust continue. There were two young men he was especially interested in. One was Ned's son and heir Robb Stark. He was doing remarkably well. Though he took after his mother more in looks, he saw a great deal of Ned in the lad. The other was Robb's cousin and best-friend who was also his own namesake, Jon Stark; the son of Brandon Stark and Ashara Dayne. The two might have been only cousins, but they showed a brotherly bond that was stronger than any Jon had seen. Jon would give the boy this; he was extraordinarily gifted. He had already defeated numerous knights of great reknown. Jon was also fairly certain the boy was wearing the favor of Margaery Tyrell herself. That her grandmother had allowed that was...surprising to say the least.

He had yet to have the chance to truly examine the boy up close, as something always seemed to be cropping up unexpectedly. The one time he had glimpsed him up close, he thought his old eyes must have been deceiving him. He could see very little of Brandon Stark in the lad. Their were some distinct Stark features certainly, but they were not dominant. He supposed it must be the Dayne side he took after with what Jon could only call Valryrian features being so strong. However, from the brief glimpse he had gotten, they did not look particularly Dayne to him. The same could be said of his sister. There was no question that the two were closely related, but from the similarly brief glimpse Jon had gotten of Elaena, he could find no real Stark features in the girl whatsoever. The thought that entered his mind next was madness, he was sure. He must have been imagining things.

Apparently both Stark boys had done it. They had both made it to the finals; Robb by unhorsing Ser Beric Dondarrion, and Jon Stark by unhorsing Garlan Tyrell. Lord Arryn was shocked, as were most of the spectators, when Lady Margaery applauded the young Stark when he defeated her own brother. That leant more credence to his earlier thought that the boy was indeed wearing the Lady Margaery's favor.

That evening, as he was still going over all his thoughts and ruminations, he was informed that Petyr Baelish had arrived and was to join his party. The Vale lord already felt a headache coming on. There was no one he regretted bringing to the capitol more than that particular little man. The more he learned about the man, the more he came to despise him. While he was not blind to his dear wife's infatuation with the man, he tolerated him for the simple fact that with him around, Jon himself was not forced to deal with the wretched woman. If it were not for the fact she had bore him a son with undeniable Arryn features, he would have rid himself of the both of them long since.

Dinner that night was a miserable affair for the Mountain lord. They were dining in their rooms tonight as Tyrell's were hosting a smaller affair than the usual banquet for the winner's of todays rounds. He was sitting at table with only his wife and Baelish as companions.

'Oh the joy,' Jon thought.

His wife was insisting he try some new dish. He would try nearly anything as long as she kept quiet. He went along with it as he usually did to keep the peace.

'Ah, a new rant,' he thought as Lysa began to go on about the Starks.

Baelish appeared to be encouraging her. He supposed it was to be expected, he would not be inclined to like any Stark; the children of Lord Brandon especially.

"So as I was saying," Lysa began; when he finally forced himself to join the conversation.

"I approached my nephew, and asked how he could dare to shame our family in such a manner," Lysa said.

"Rightly so; if I may say so my lady. I was not even aware there was another Stark bastard besides the girl," Baelish slithered in.

"He had the nerve to ask what I could possibly be speaking of!" Lysa exclaimed shrilly.

His ears were already beginning to ring. He dearly wished for a drink.

"I told him I would be informing his lord grandfather with his consorting with the shame to the Tully name! They were prancing about as if they belonged there! The Tyrell's even seemed to favor the Dornish scum," she said vehemently.

"Do you know what that ungrateful whelp told me?" Lysa asked no one in particular.

"He turned practically feral and behaved just like some Northern barbarian!" The former Tully said.

"The beast," Baelish muttered soothingly to Lysa.

Jon wanted to wretch at the display.

"He asked me whom did I presume to think I was? He said I should watch how I speak about the second in line to the Throne of Winter, and that as a Tully and an Andal, I had no business enquiring into the family issues of a dynasty eight thousand years old! The vile beast even dared to question Sweetrobin's behavior! Said it was unseemly for him to be seen related to a child that was allowed to behave in such a manner. You can rest assured I shall be sending out numerous ravens about my nephew's appalling behavior," she said as her rant seemed to wind down.

Jon liked Robb Stark all the more from what he had just heard. He would have defended his kin in a like manner at that age. He couldn't help the next question that slipped out.

"By the by, what was young Robb referring to about our Robert?" Jon asked.

"Well, Sweetrobin was merely hungry, and so I of course..."

"By the gods woman! Have you taken complete leave of your senses. You breast fed the boy in public? At this age!" The Lord of the Vale exclaimed; unable to stop himself.

He could not allow this to continue. It was becoming not only unseemly, but rather disturbing as well, and could do a great deal of damage to both the image and the reputation of House Arryn.

The wail that was heard next from his lady wife was almost ear-shattering; and thus proceeded yet another shrill tirade from his increasingly mad wife. By the time he made it to his bed that night, he was beginning to feel almost as bad as he did before he left Kings Landing; something he had hoped was finally leaving him. He found it strange that it was only around his wife and Baelish that he felt thus, but was too tired to think further on it. 


End file.
